When I Break
by TinkerBellTing
Summary: 15 years after DH, Hermione Granger reflects on the tragedy that has affected her life in recent years, and tries to move past it to a new future. R/Hr.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This entire story is set after Deathly Hallows, ignoring the epilogue, although many of the things in the epilogue will be reflected here. This is entirely from Hermione's POV, and mainly her struggles. Please read and review… thanks! enjoy!

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I remember when I was still in Hogwarts and everyone around me discussed the future, mine always seemed simple enough. It was always obvious where I'd be ten or fifteen years after school. I'd be at some ridiculously challenging, rewarding job that would satisfy my thirst for learning and curiosity. I'd be married to Ron and we'd have a bunch of kids and be insanely happy. Sadly, at least part of that planned out future was wrong. It's been fifteen years since we defeated Voldemort, fourteen years since I finished school, thirteen and a half years since I joined the Department of Regulation of Magical Creatures, twelve since Ron and I got married, ten since I moved to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, eight since we had our daughter, Rose, six since I became Assistant to the Department Head, four since we had our son, Hugo, and two and a half since I became Head of the Department. It's been two years since we lost our third child, and about the same since my picture perfect life hasn't been all I thought it would be.

Don't get me wrong, I love my job and I adore my kids and I'll always love Ron, but I always thought I'd be happier at age 33. A big part of me desperately wants more children, and an even bigger part of me is terrified to lose another baby. I know that Ron can feel the change in me. We never make love anymore; in fact, we hardly touch each other at all or show any signs of affection. Most of our conversations are monotonous and nothing changes. I can't even remember the last time I kissed him.

Ever since I've become so withdrawn Ron has thrown himself into being the best Auror possible, and since him and Harry run the Auror Department it hasn't been hard to find work to do. Technically I'm his boss, since I am the head of Law, but we never judge it that way. Most of our interactions have been work related though. We never talk anymore unless it's about our kids, or something happening in the office. I don't really know why we let what happened tear us apart- I thought nothing would ever be able to do that. Now we're both ridiculously successful in our careers but unhappy at home.

I do wonder sometimes if other people can tell we're unhappy. I know that Harry is Ron's outlet for basically everything so it wouldn't surprise me if he knows everything. I talk to him a lot too, but it's not the same as it used to be. I talk to Ginny more than Harry these days, and I do tell her a lot, not everything, because I've never been really comfortable opening up and telling everything to anyone but Ron. I'm sure Harry and Ginny have discussed it. I hope our kids don't know but sadly I think Rose got my emotional radar and has probably picked up on more than we think; she was also old enough to understand what happened when we didn't bring her sibling home from the hospital so she might have connected those dots as well.

My parents know. I confide in my mum about certain aspects of the issues between Ron and me, mainly that we don't talk anymore, and my guess is that she has discussed the problems with my dad. I think Molly and Arthur know. Arthur sees us at work and I'm sure he notices that we never eat lunch together anymore or arrive together, or leave together. Plus I've been avoiding big family gatherings so much that the entire Weasley clan probably has figured out that something is wrong, I don't think I've even been to the Burrow for over a year. Molly and Ginny also talk a lot and I'm sure that Ginny has told Molly some things, intentionally or not.

Ron tried for a long time to get me back to my usual headspace, but sadly I've been away from myself for so long that eventually he gave up. We don't really do anything together anymore unless our kids are involved. We both love them more than anything and it's basically an unspoken agreement that we don't let our issues cloud their life. Actually our issues themselves are unspoken as well. We never talk about anything important, and we haven't for a long time. Right now I'm sitting at my desk at work- supposedly doing paperwork- but writing all my thoughts in a journal and reflecting on the last couple years. I keep looking up into the Auror Department to see if I can catch a glimpse of my husband. Its late in the day and basically everyone else has left; I worked a bit later than normal because on my lunch break I went to a muggle therapist to talk about my life with Ron because I'm tired of being in this strange purgatory. I didn't tell anyone about this appointment, or the last few months of appointments, not even Ginny. I just miss Ron so much and he's near me all the time and I don't know how to get back to where we were so I decided to get some help.

And it has helped, a lot. I think since I'm the one who pulled away so hard I need to be the one to take the first steps to get him back; it's only fair. I also think I'm finally ready to start trying to be the person I used to be again. I've wallowed long enough and I really just want to reclaim my life. Plus I know that I need to prove my love for Ron somehow after letting him believe whatever he has for so long. I've been working myself up to acting and actually trying to change and as I start packing up my things, closing the journal on my desk, I look up and notice Ron shutting his office lights off and heading my way. My pulse quickens a bit, I know that I'm about to get the opportunity to do something different tonight to show him that things are going to change.

Knock knock:

I hear him knock on my office door and call for him to come in. He cracks the door open enough for his head to stick through.

"Hey, I'm heading home and I just wanted to tell you I'm going to pick up the kids from my parents," he paused for a second, looking like he was having an inner battle about whether to continue, then added unsurely, "any idea when you'll be home?"

It breaks a piece of my heart to see how fearful and sad he is when he talks to me. I hesitate for a second, knowing I could leave with him right now and go get the kids with him but I also know that its around dinner time which means other Weasley's could be there besides his parents, picking up their kids, and I know that it would be too much too fast. I pick a different option.

"Well I think I'll leave in a few minutes and get home to make you dinner," I take a deep breath, stand up from behind my desk and walk towards the door. I pull it open and he stands up straight in front of me, looking very surprised at my actions. Another breath, must remember to breath, and I take his hand. When I touch him a shock runs through me and I realize just how long it has been since we've touched, and an even longer time since I initiated any kind of contact.

"Ron, honey," I say trying to grab his attention, he had a glossed over dazed look on his face and I could tell he was surprised that I was so near him, "what's your favourite meal these days? I'll make it tonight." I force a smile, hoping he can see that I'm trying very hard.

Ron looks at me, a bit shocked still but recovers after a short time and grips my hand back before replying, "The usual stuff Mione, any kind of pasta with cheese," he smiled sadly and added, "I haven't really changed."

God it felt good to hear him say my name. It has been way to long since he said my name, and way longer since he said my Ron-only nickname. Hearing him say it gave me a sudden rush of bravery and I reached up to touch his cheek.

"Pasta with lots of cheese it is. But I'm adding some kind of protein," it made me happy to see him smile when I touched his cheek so gently. I can feel him rest his cheek in my hand, and his eyes close, as if savouring the moment.

"Okay that sounds great," Ron said and suddenly seemed very reluctant to continue as he opens his eyes, "I guess I better go get the kids."

I nod and he turns and walks out of the office. From the look on his face I can tell how starved for affection he is; a sudden impulse flashes through me and makes me run into the empty office space after him.

"Ron," I don't yell, but I certainly say it loud enough for him to hear. He turns around and I rush towards him and kiss him hard on the mouth; a passionate but relatively short kiss, soft yet hard, gentle, so many things I haven't felt in such a long time. Ron responds after a few seconds of realizing what was happening. When I pull away I notice that he has tears in his eyes. I stand in front of him and smile up at him, leaning into his chest and he instinctively wraps his arms around me.

Suddenly I'm crying. I don't really know what happened but just the feeling of him near me again was overwhelming and suddenly I can feel the guilt of all my recent actions. I can feel so much pain leaving me as he holds me gently against him; my body feels like it's on fire from his touch. Ron just stands there, rubbing my back and when I finally pull away his robes are wet on the front and his cheeks are tear stained.

"We're going to be okay baby," he says and wipes a tear away from my eye.

I smile up at him, a real, genuine smile and he kisses my forehead.

"Go get our kids Ron," I say softly and then add, "and be home quick, we're all doing something together tonight okay?"

Ron nods and smiles, "I'll see you soon then." He goes to kiss me on the cheek but I see it coming and move so that a light kiss falls on my lips, something I used to do when we first started dating and he when still nervous about kissing me.

"I do love you Ron, I hope you know that," I whisper as he pulls away.

"I love you," he smiles and turns to walk away, leaving me to pack up my desk.

As I re-enter my office I suddenly feel way better. I can't believe how much one short interaction with Ron can change everything. I stand in the doorway smiling at the progress we made in such a short amount of time and I realize my office is very gloomy and I can't help but stand and wonder how long it's been this way. Tomorrow will be a new day so I open up the blinds and let in the darkness of night, knowing that it'll be bright and shiny when I walk in the next day.

I quickly pack up my desk and head up to the apparition point in the Atrium, arriving home seconds later.

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	2. Chapter 2

I enter our house and I notice how dark it is and know that I beat Ron home. I turn on the lights and go into the living room to put on some music, something I haven't done in a very long time, then head to the master bedroom to change from my work clothes so I can make dinner. I enter the kitchen and glance at the wall where the enchanted clock we got from Molly and Arthur as a wedding gift shows me at home and the rest of our small family at the Burrow. I smile and start preparing dinner.

Twenty minutes or so later, I hear noise in the living room and know that Rose probably just came through the fireplace. I rush into the living room and pick up my little girl and spin her around, happier to see the eyes she shares with Ron than I have been in a very long time.

She giggles at my actions, and screams with joy, "MUUUUUUUUMMIE!"

I laugh and put her down as the fireplace ignites again with green flame and Ron steps out, holding Hugo in his arms.

"There's my boy!" I smile and take Hugo from Ron, and then I glance at him and add, "I mean boys." A wink in Ron's direction makes him smile and I put Hugo down. Rose and Hugo immediately run over across the room to play chess and Ron and I head to the kitchen.

"How are your parents?" I ask Ron as we get back to the kitchen and I go to the fridge to grab Ron a drink.

"They're good," Ron leans against the counter, "I think they miss their favourite daughter-in-law though." It's quiet for a second as I pause and consider the comment for a second. Grabbing a drink from the fridge, I close the door and turn back to Ron.

I stand with a butterbeer in my hand and walk to Ron. I lean into his body and give him another kiss. I place the drink behind him on the counter and he kisses me back very passionately and I can feel the heat in the room rising as I run my fingers through his hair and he grips my waist and pulls me closer to him, until we hear a squeal.

Breaking apart we see Rose standing in the entrance to the kitchen, smiling but looking disgusted all the same.

She wanders over to us and wraps her arms around Ron's legs and looks up at me, "Mummy when's food?" Ron chuckles at this and pats her head, then puts his arm around my waist.

I smile at Ron's affection and tell Rose that dinner will be ready soon and that she and Hugo should go wash their hands.

"I miss the family too Ron," I say in response to his previous statement, hoping he understands what I mean. Still looking at the floor, I change my gaze and cautiously let my eyes meet his.

Ron smiles at me and looks into my eyes for a second as if deconstructing the walls within and replies softly, "It's nice to have you back, baby."

We share a smile and I add, "I'm not ready to see everyone at once yet, but I was thinking maybe this weekend we could go visit the Burrow and my parents for lunch or dinner or something and bring the kids."

Ron nods in response, "that sounds good to me."

"Well there's going to be food involved in both visits so I should've known it would sound fantastic to you," I retort quickly and then we both start laughing. It's been way too long since we laughed this hard, it's strange since what I said wasn't all that hilarious but I think we both needed a good laugh.

I quickly finish preparing dinner and Ron sets the table and gets the kids together. As I sit eating, I realize how long it's been since I haven't been in a daze all through our meals. Suddenly I feel very guilty and I think Ron can tell. He grasps my hand from across the table and I feel better, then I look at our beautiful children and smile again.

"Kids what do you think of watching a family movie after dinner?" I say, and smile as their faces light up with anticipation. A family movie is something we haven't done in a long time.

Rose smiles and starts tapping Ron's arm, "Daddy Daddy, can we watch Finding Nemo?"

Hugo was such a happy kid he never cared about choosing movies, he was happy to sit and enjoy just about anything, but I could tell he's waiting patiently for Ron's answer and then I with a shot of pain through my chest I realize that he's trying to make sure that Ron and I are doing this with them together.

"I don't know, Hugo, what do you think mate? Does Finding Nemo work for you?" Ron smiles and rubs his little head.

Hugo smiles and nods happily and Ron catches my eye and winks. "Okay so after dinner we'll do the dishes together and then we can all settle in and watch Finding Nemo."

"Mione why don't you let us do the dishes since you made dinner and you can go take a bath or something and we'll get a movie set up for when you get out?"

I smile at Ron and I know that he's trying to make me feel good, something he's always done so well.

"Thanks baby," I'm a bit surprised at how foreign 'baby' sounds coming out of my mouth when Ron and I used to say it to each other all the time. I notice that when I say baby he looks up from his plate and catches my eye right away. He smiles and we don't break eye contact for a few seconds until Rose starts chatting about how wonderful it was learning out to de-gnome the garden at the Burrow. I chuckle a bit at the thought, knowing that the chore she's describing was easily Ron's least favourite when he was growing up, and we finish our meal quickly.

I help clear the plates until Ron chases me out of the kitchen and then head to the bathroom and run a bath. A few seconds after I get into the tub I hear a knock at the door and I assume that it's Rose wondering when the movie is going to start so I'm a bit startled when I say to come in and it's Ron who enters. He hasn't seen me naked in a very long time, not to mention wet, in a tub naked.

"Sorry Mione, I'm not looking or anything but Rose wants to read your copy of Hogwarts: A History until the movie and I need to know where it is so I can get it for her," Ron says and I notice that he's keeping his distance which makes me feel a wave of sadness.

"Ron come here," I say, I hate that it feels like he's scared to approach me.

He walks forward slowly and I notice his eyes take me in when he gets close enough to see through the water. Merlin it makes me feel good to see that look in his eyes, I giggle a little, "It's been a long time since I saw that look in your eyes."

Ron smiles back and I sit up and pull him towards me by his shirt, kissing him hard. When I pull away I whisper against his lips, "I am still your wife, I still love you, I still want you, and I don't want you ever to be afraid to approach me again. Okay?"

I know that he loves it when I get bossy, so I say this with an undertone that I'm sure he remembers from me telling him to study for his exams in school. He smiles in response and looks a bit unsure.

"It's just been a really long time Hermione, since any of this. What changed? Why today?"

The curiosity in his eyes is obvious, and I know that I should tell him that I went to talk to someone about our problems, so I reluctantly share that detail.

"I don't want you to get mad," I pause, "A few months ago I realized that I couldn't go on with life the way it was. Ever since we lost her, I've been so devastated and cold, so I decided to go and see a doctor about it. I went to a muggle therapist and I've been going back a few times a week ever since. I know you don't like it when I talk about our relationship with other people but I think its working Ron. I miss you so much and I know that it's going to take some time, because we need to talk a lot of stuff out, but I am ready to show you the love you deserve."

I feel a bit uneasy as Ron takes what I just said in, and then I look up into his eyes when he replies, "If you need to talk to anyone you can always talk to me, but I guess I understand you needing someone impartial to the situation. Are you sure they're helping?"

I smile and nod and he continues, "I hope you know how much I love you. There is a lot of stuff we need to say, but we'll get there."

I kiss him again and he responds fully, when I pull back I add, "I'll be out of here in a few minutes, the book is in the spare room on the top shelf."

"Thanks," Ron smiles and stands up, then leans down and kisses me one more time, "and I don't just mean for the book."

He closes the door behind him and I lay there in the bath, for the first time in a long time I realize I'm really at ease. I grin when I hear a loud laugh from Hugo echoing from the living room and decide it's time to get out. I dress quickly in pyjamas and walk out into the living room to find that the movie is set up and ready to go. Hugo is dressed for bed and sitting comfortably on the floor with his favourite stuffed animal and Rose and Ron are sitting together on the couch reading my favourite book. I take a seat next to Ron and lean into him as he puts his arm around me and we start the movie.

I feel myself relax into Ron's body and treasure the closeness that I haven't experienced in such a long time. Just after the opening credits roll, Rose gets up from the couch and joins her brother on the floor to be closer to the screen. Ron and I are left alone sitting together on the couch and as I sit basking in the comfort of my husbands embrace, I realize the movie has been on for over twenty minutes. Ron's grip around my shoulder tightens a little and I rest my head against his body. His tall frame envelops me and I carefully place my hand on his leg. We sit in content for another hour or so when I notice that Hugo has fallen asleep hugging his teddy bear and leaning against his sister. The scene is adorable and I want Ron to see but when I turn to him to tell him I find that he had been staring at our kids as well and looked to me at the same time. I share his grin and we lock eye contact for a few seconds then I settle back into his arms until the movie is finished.

The screen fades and I realize that I absolutely don't want to move from the comfort of Ron's arms. "Ron I don't want to move," I'm surprised to find myself blushing at this confession and bury my head in his chest. I can almost feel his smile and then his fingers start combing through my hair and I feel his lips on top my head. I look up at him and he gently moves a hair away from my face. I relish the feeling of his touch on my skin and he softly whispers, "Will you have lunch with me tomorrow?"

I feel myself smile, "sure I will," I reply eliciting another grin from the redheaded man. I place a soft kiss on his cheek and look back at our kids who are now both asleep on the floor. We finally get off the couch and pick each kid up to take them to bed. I place Hugo in his bed and he doesn't wake up at all so I give him a quick kiss on the forehead and venture back into my own bedroom while Ron tucks Rose in.

I find myself staring at the bed that I've shared with Ron for the past twelve years and realize that it looks a lot more welcoming tonight than it has in a very long time. I want to take the clip out of my hair and when I put it down on the dresser I notice a framed picture near the mirror that was taken just after Hugo's first birthday. Rose and Hugo are with Ron and I and we look like a perfect little family, smiling and waving happily. Tears come into my eyes as I take in the image of the life I had before and suddenly I can hardly breathe. I feel someone wrap their arms around my waist from behind and I regain my breath as Ron whispers softly in my ear, "We have great kids ya know," he pauses and I get my breath back to normal, tears still running down my cheeks, "and we'll get back to where we were, that's a promise." I turn in his arms and Ron wraps his arms tightly around me as I cry into his chest. I can hear Ron crying softly as well and I know that if I don't tell Ron everything that we'll never move on, it's definitely time. I take him by the hand and lead him over to our bed where we sit down and have a short moment of silence.

"Mione, if you're not ready we don't have to talk about this yet," Ron says quietly to me but I know that he desperately wants answers and he's only saying this to make me feel comfortable. I know I owe it to him to give him some sort of explanation and I shake my head, and words start tumbling out of my mouth.

"When we lost the baby, I just felt so guilty and I understand that logically what happened wasn't my fault but I guess I just sort of broke. I know we didn't plan the pregnancy and at the time I guess a part of me really wasn't happy at the prospect of being pregnant again and putting my career on hold again after finally getting back to work after having Hugo. That feeling went away of course, and my insecurities had died away and I finally felt sure that I want to have a huge family and I was actually happy that we were doing that. And then our baby died. She died Ron," I pause as I try to regain my breath, "Then and now I've just been terrified at the thought of having another child because I know that I can't handle the pain of giving birth to another dead baby. I can't handle it and I can't lose you and I've just been so scared that you hate me and blame me and that you'd never be able to forgive me that I let myself get so far past the point of reason."

During my confession I had started trembling and crying even harder, but Ron just held me and when I finally pull away I notice that his cheeks are soaked in tears as well. We sit in silence for a few moments, and then I feel his chest move as he takes a deep breath and I know a reply is imminent.

"Hermione there are a few things you need to understand. Firstly, I could never ever hate you. I love you so much I can't ever think straight and I always have and I always will. You also gave me three amazing children and nothing will ever make my love for you lessen or waver. That is a promise. And Mi, baby, I would never blame you for what happened. I would never hold you responsible for the tragedy that happened to us. It wasn't our fault, sometimes these things happen, and some things aren't meant to be. What happened was an accident and we can't change it, but we have to move on. When we're ready maybe we can have more kids, but if something like that does happen you need to accept that you can't control everything. An unplanned pregnancy is something anyone would have reservations about- but that doesn't mean that it's your fault that it didn't work out. We have to get past this because it's going to kill us if we don't. We lost a child, and it's awful and horrible, but there is no fault here. We just need to lean on each other and we'll be okay."

I know that what Ron's saying is true. It gives me some relief that he finally knows what I've been thinking and now all I want is to be in his arms forever.

"Ron, can you just hold me tonight?" I notice he smiles a little through his tears and when he nods then we both move so we can get into bed. Once we're under the covers a surge of happiness goes through me when he pulls me closer to him and whispers, "Baby I'll hold you every night forever if you'll let me." I know that he's still crying, I'm definitely still crying. Tears for a child that we never got to know; tears of grief for a baby that we should've been able to bring home from the hospital. Sleep takes me over as I cling to Ron's body in the darkness of our bedroom, finally letting go of the sadness that I've clung to for such a long time.

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	3. Chapter 3

disclaimer: i own nothing... please read and review, and of course, ENJOY!

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I wake up and find that Ron and I both haven't moved at all from the night before. My chest feels light as if the weight I've been carrying is gone and I get a jolt when I feel Ron wake up. 

"Morning honey," I say and kiss his chest. I stay totally wrapped around him and smile when I feel him rubbing my arms gently.

"It's been a long time since I've woken up this happy," Ron replies.

I pretend to look further south on his body and retort, "You don't look too happy to me." I giggle and Ron chuckles too.

"Mione I know last night wasn't easy but thank you for finally letting me in."

I smile and take a breath, then turn to look up at him, "I'm sorry that it took me so long."

The contentment that I feel is my assurance that we're going to make it through this, that one day we'll be okay. Wanting to lighten the mood I decide to ask in a girlish, playful voice, "So where are you taking me for lunch today?"

Ron grins down at me, "Why don't you let me surprise you?"

I nod and smile, then glance at the clock and notice that it's definitely time to get ready for work if we don't want to be late for the day. I lean up and kiss Ron softly on the lips, "Come on baby, I'll shower while you get the kids up and then I'll make you breakfast while you shower. Deal?"

He kisses me back and holds me close when he replies, "Deal. It's nice to do this morning stuff together again."

I nod and we both reluctantly get out of bed. As I walk into the bathroom I watch the muscles in Ron's back ripple as he leaves the room. I feel a familiar feeling throb in my lower abdomen and I smile when I realize how long it's been since I felt that attraction and level of desire. In the shower I let my mind wander to Ron's body and think desperately about the last time I felt his lips on my skin. It's been a long time since I let my own hands wander south, probably since Ron's Auror training all those years ago before we were married when he had to be away for months at a time.

It doesn't take long to get myself off after the long period of abstinence that I'd been having. I smile when I think of bugging Ron in a few minutes and let the water wash over my body and turn it off after a few more minutes.

When I go into the kitchen I see that Ron has just gotten the kids to sit down, fully dressed, and walk over feeling a little bit liberated after my escapade in the shower. I use my bravery and rub Ron's stomach and stand on my tiptoes to whisper in a surprisingly sultry voice, "I thought of you."

He must have understood my meaning because when I moved away from his ear his face was flushed red and grinning like a fool. Our kids are colouring at the table and I play with Rose's hair for a second then move away to the fridge to get out food for breakfast. My movement seemed to shake Ron out of his trance and he came from behind and kissed just behind my ear lobe. I close my eyes for a second and feel him pull away. I turn to smile and he returns it, then retreats back to the area of our bedroom to have a shower.

With a flick of my wand, breakfast is making itself so I tell the kids to keep colouring and I go to quickly get dressed for work. I rush back to the kitchen because I know that if Ron comes out of the bathroom in a towel it's entirely possible we'd end up back in bed and that would be entirely too fast. I use my wand to do my hair and makeup once I'm back in the kitchen and get plates out for breakfast. I load up Ron's plate after making sure Rose and Hugo are set and then do my own.

When he comes into the kitchen I smile at his wet hair, he looks so cute, and he kisses me on the lips before sitting down at the table. We share a grin and I don't even have to ask to know that he thought of me. We giggle throughout breakfast and afterwards, and on a sudden burst of inspiration I decide to ask Ron, "Baby?" He looks up from tying Hugo's shoes, "Can I come with you to drop the kids off?"

He looks surprised, "Of course you can if you want to. Are you you're ready for my parents?"

I am a bit unsure, but I really want to try, "I think if you're with me I'll be fine."

A few minutes later Ron steps first into the fireplace with Hugo in his arms and they both disappear to the Burrow. Rose is about to hop into the fireplace too when she turns to me and says, "Bye Mummy."

I realize, sadly, that she's not used to me being with Ron anymore when she gets dropped off at her grandparents house, "Don't worry love, I'm coming with you today." She looks very surprised, but grins a wide, Weasley smile.

"Will you floo with me?" I nod and pick her up in my arms, then we step into the fireplace and seconds later we're at the Burrow. There are no Weasley's in sight so with Rose in my arms we follow voices into the kitchen. From the look on Molly and Arthur's faces they weren't expecting to see me, and I understand why; it's been at least a year if not longer since I came here. I put Rose down and she runs off to find her brother and cousins.

"Hermione dear, it's so good to see you," Molly's now hugging me so tightly I almost cry because I can feel the joy radiating off of her. It feels amazing to be back in the Burrow, a place so full of love. When she releases me I say good morning to Arthur and walk to where Ron is standing a few feet away and grip his hand tightly. He smiles down at me and kisses me on the cheek, and after a few minutes of small talk and a promise to come to the weekly family dinner that weekend, we decide its time to get to work.

Walking through the Atrium with Ron holding my hand is managing to get quite a few stares and I realize that more people than I thought probably had caught on to our issues. I always forget how high profile our lives have become ever since the defeat of Voldemort. With Ron at my side it doesn't bother me too much but I'm still glad that it's a Friday. Ron walks me right through the Department of Magical Law main office, ignoring the curious glances from our everyday co-workers, including Harry, and comes to my office door. I touch the doorknob with my free hand and my handprint unlocks it. I look up at Ron and he leans down and gives me a short kiss that could be deemed as work-appropriate.

Somehow, I need more this morning so I open my office door quickly and pull him inside, closing it quickly and pushing him up against it to lay a passionate full kiss on his lips. We are both red and smiling when we finally pull away and as hold both hands together Ron says softly, "What time should I be here to pick you up for lunch?"

I don't know why but it feels like it did when he asked me out on our first date, I have that same giddy feeling in my stomach. "How's 11:30 for you?" He nods and kisses me softly one more time then leaves my office and walks directly across the room to the Auror office. I wait a few seconds to cool off and then walk out of my office and notice through the window that Harry and Ron are chatting and grinning. I watch for a few seconds and Harry looks up and catches my eye. He winks and me and smiles and I smile back then turn to my secretary's desk. A thought hits and I really hope that Ron isn't busy telling Harry about the shower thing, I let out a giggle at the thought and ask my surprised secretary for my messages.

I regain my focus once she starts talking to me, but the smile doesn't leave my face. Anna, my secretary, is looking at me a bit funny but I realize quickly that she has only worked for me for about a year so she probably thinks I don't know how to smile considering how the last year has been. In fact I bet a lot of people in my department think I'm some crazy hard-ass, now that's kind of hilarious. I giggle again and shake my head and walk back into my office- leaving the door open today and loving the feeling I get from the sunlight in my room. Merlin I can't wait until lunch.

RHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRH

Everyday at work has gone by quickly for as long as I can remember; so much stuff to do that usually I hardly notice the time before I feel the hunger in my stomach, everyday that isn't today. I finally have something to look forward to and time just won't move fast enough. I don't know how I went so long without touching Ron before yesterday. When we were younger we used to sneak around the school during his visits or at work all the time looking for places to grab a kiss or a quick snog. I'm suddenly missing those days a lot right now. All we have is a lunch date and the thought of it alone has been making me giggle and blush at my desk all morning. Its now finally 11AM and I can't even pretend to think anymore. The contract on my desk about legalizing something-or-other lays unread because I can't seem to get past the first few words. Knowing that Ron is thirty feet away and not being with him is driving me mad.

I feel like a new monster has been unleashed. I feel the pain of yesterday slipping away and like I'm finally ready to be me again. Two years of pain is enough.

I look at the clock once more to see two minutes has passed since my last glance and decide I've had enough. Oh screw it; I'm never going to get any work done anyway. Maybe I'll go wander the Auror department and pretend to do a professional- work related walk around.

Smiling at the thought, I walk out of my office and cross the bustling work space that separates my office from the Auror department, then open the doors and approach the assistant's desk inside. "Good morning Mrs. Weasley," I hear the assistant say as I near her desk, and smile, "Good Morning Lindsay, how are you today?" I think it's going to take awhile for people to get used to me being more cheerful- it's definitely taking a few seconds for Lindsay to respond.

"Oh I'm fine thanks, how are you?" I smile in return and respond truthfully, "I'm actually doing very well. Do you know where Mr. Weasley and Mr. Potter are?" She nods and responds, "I think they're in Mr. Potter's office, they've been there basically all morning." I glance at Harry's door and then back at her, "Okay thanks."

It's been a while since I voluntarily walked through the Auror office; it's nice to be back. As I approach the door to Harry's office, I can hear them both laughing hysterically at something inside. I love the sound of them both being so completely happy and carefree. I relish in the sound for a second then tap on the door.

I hear Harry say to come in and it sounds like he's trying to regain his composure in case it's someone important at the door. I open the door kind of timidly- it's been a long time since the three of us have been in the same room without it being tense. I walk in and close the door behind me. Ron is sitting in the chair in front of Harry's desk and can't see it's me walking in, but Harry is standing leaning against his desk and his face lit back up when he saw me enter the room.

"Hey boys," I smile and Ron stands up and turns around to see me. Harry remains leaning against his desk, but responds, "Hey Hermione." I can see curiosity in Ron's eyes so I answer is unasked question, "Sorry I didn't want to interrupt but I couldn't sit at my desk and stare at the clock anymore." Ron breaks into a grin that I return and add, "Longest morning ever."

"Well why don't you come and have a seat? Ron and I were actually just talking about your love affair with Gilderoy Lockheart in second year," Harry's now laughing again, and Ron is laughing at me too. I blush a little before admitting that it was rather hilarious and I join in laughing as well. Ron reaches for my hand and I walk closer to him so I can grab his. I throw him a wink as I go to sit on the chair next to him.

"So are you guys getting any work done or have you been joking around about my ill-advised crushes all morning?" Ron and Harry have brief eye contact and laugh again- I can tell I stumbled onto something.

"Actually we were talking about school life in general, all the best times," Ron answers me with a smile on his face, then Harry unexpectedly cuts in-

"Yeah like when after the Yule Ball I found the arm of Ron's Viktor Krum doll ripped off on our dorm room floor during fourth year." Ron went red as Harry finished, while Harry started laughing again.

This is news to me and I look at Ron whose face is getting redder by the second. "How have I not heard about this in the past fifteen years?" I laugh and can see that some reassurance is needed in Ron's face so I stand up and move over to Ron, then sit on his lap and his arms go around my waist. "Its okay baby, I think it's cute when you get all jealous." I smile as I say it and give Ron a quick kiss on the nose, which makes him smile and the red in his face starts to die away.

Harry looks a bit surprised and I can tell that even though Ron probably spent the morning telling Harry about the night before, he hadn't believed it until now. "Okay enough with the Ron hates Vicky Krum stuff. I believe the missus and I have a lunch date." When Ron says this I feel my pulse speed up a bit and I stand up to allow Ron to get up as well. We tell Harry we're off and join hands as we make our way towards the door.

"Have a good date you two," I hear Harry say behind us and turn to wink at him, and then he adds, "And Mi, can you call Gin tonight? She's going to be mad if she doesn't hear about EVERYTHING." I laugh and agree, and then we leave the office.

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i'll update soon! 


	4. Chapter 4

Hey Everyone, thank you for all the kind reviews, it's definitely motivation to keep this story going... here's another installment that is a little bit dirty but not too extreme, i hope you all enjoy the story!

thanks!

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We start making our way up to the Atrium when I realize that I still don't know where we're going for lunch, "So Ronald, where are you taking me for lunch?" Ron just smiles at me in response and we hop into an empty lift. Once the doors close me he turns to me and kisses me hard and suddenly I'm pushed up against a wall and snogging my husband like a couple of teenagers. When our kiss finally breaks, I can hardly breathe, but Ron speaks first, "I have been thinking about that all morning." I can feel his breath against my face still when he whispers softly and I respond quietly and truthfully, "me too."

Our eyes lock for a few seconds and just as he's about to kiss me again the lift doors open and we separate enough not to look suspicious, then Arthur Weasley walks in. Ron and I blush instantly because we know it was obvious what we had been up to. "Hey Dad," Ron manages and I get out a "Morning Mr. Weasley." I haven't called Arthur Mr. Weasley in about ten years, and as I think about that fact it occurs to me that the last time I felt this nervous was on Ron's 19th birthday when I got to surprise him at the Burrow and his dad busted us going at it in his bedroom. Thinking about the look on his face makes me start giggling to myself which makes Ron and his dad look at me curiously.

"I'm sorry; I'm just having a serious flashback to our pre-marriage days." Ron's face flashes an even deeper red and I know that he knows what I'm referring to. He puts his arm around me and starts chuckling too, Arthur joins in as well when he remembers and adds, "Yeah I guess I can't really bust the two of you anymore. I mean you've been married for twelve years now." I finally stop chuckling and realize, "It is hilarious that you just made us feel like a couple of teenagers though." We all smile and it's quiet for a few moments and as our lift is about to reach the Atrium Arthur turns to us and asks, "So where are you two kids off to anyways?" Ron smiles at his dad and replies, "We have a lunch date."

I can tell Arthur is happy for us and from the look on his face I can tell that he's also going to be going to his office to owl Molly to tell her of the newest development in the Ron-Hermione saga. I laugh at the thought and add, "Yes but your son is refusing to tell me where he's taking me." I wink at Ron and the lift stops.

"Well have a good time you two," Arthur tells us before he walks in the other direction. Ron still has his arm around me and is steering us towards the apparition point. "Okay can we do side-along? I'll just guide you so you can be surprised." I smile at Ron's obvious excitement and reply, "Okay baby."

The next thing I feel is Ron's arms around me and the familiar pull of apparition. When our location becomes clear, I realize that we're in Hogsmeade and heading to a small little restaurant that we used to meet at during the year I returned to Hogwarts when Ron was helping George in the shop. I smile at look up at Ron who is staring at me and waiting for a reaction.

"Our old spot?" I ask and for some ridiculous reason I feel tears coming into my eyes.

"Don't cry sweetie, I just wanted to come somewhere that means something to us because today means so much to me," Ron takes my hand and uses his other to wipe the tears away from my cheeks.

"Merlin I love you Ron." I manage to get out and he kisses me, and then leads me into the restaurant.

All throughout lunch I feel like this actually is our first date. We keep catching glances at each other and giggling, a part of me feels like I'm back in the Hogwarts days. "God Ron, it feels like we're about to start walking back up to the school for dinner in the Great Hall." He smiles, and I can tell he's feeling it too, "Yeah, I definitely miss those days sometimes."

Our lunch date goes by way too quickly for my comfort and when we head back out onto the street to apparate back to the Ministry, I grab Ron's hand, "Ron can we leave work early today?"

Ron smiles, "What did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking we could leave around 4 and then go home for an hour or so to talk and then we can go to your parent's house together to pick up the kids." This is me being brave.

"Are you sure you want to go there tonight? I mean there might be some other Weasley's in the mix and we're going there tomorrow night for family dinner," Ron responds but I can tell he's just worried about me because there was a flicker of excitement in his eyes when he learned that I wanted to go to his parent's house.

"Yeah it won't be too bad tonight, and I think if I come with you tonight when there are only a few extra people it'll be better than going over there tomorrow night and seeing everyone at once. I could even owl your mum and ask if we could stay for dinner, I'm sure the kids would love it."

"I don't want to push you Mione," Ron smiles, "But if you're sure then yes of course we can do that. Now what's this about going home at four to be alone for an hour or two?" The suggestive eyebrow raise says it all, but I laugh anyway.

"I really do mean to talk Ron, there's still a lot of stuff to say." I hope he isn't too disappointed, but when he kisses me softly on the mouth, I can tell that he understands.

"Okay back to the ministry for a few more hours and then as soon as I can get away I'll come to your office," Ron smiles and takes my hand and we apparate back to the Ministry. As we walk into the lift and the door closes behind us I can tell Ron is uncomfortable about something.

"Ron what's wrong?"

"Okay, I don't want you to be mad, but I've sort of confided a lot of what has been happening between us in the past couple years and yesterday to Harry, who I'm sure has told Ginny. I don't want you to be uncomfortable or anything, I just needed someone to talk to," Ron's eyes have fear in them.

I'm not mad at all, I have talked to people too, and I basically expected that Harry and Ginny knew everything anyways. "Ron its okay, I kind of already assumed you'd told Harry a lot, and I tell Ginny stuff too so don't worry about it," I shift uneasily and realize that he might've told Harry about the shower thing, "Oh gosh Ron, you didn't tell Harry about this morning right? The thing I told you did?" I can feel the blush creeping down my neck- how humiliating would it be if the guy who's basically my brother found out I did that.

Ron starts laughing and I can tell he's chuckling at my embarrassment, "No, I wouldn't ever say anything like that to Harry. I did tell him that things were looking up though," we're both quiet for a few seconds and Ron says, "You really did drive me crazy when you said that this morning you know."

I smile and the lift opens into our office and as I walk out I turn back and smile suggestively, "Oh I know," and with a wink I turn my back and walk into my office. When I sit down in my office I see Ron finally shaking himself out of his thoughts and leaving the lift and walking back to his office, I love knowing that I have that affect on him.

The rest of the afternoon goes by surprisingly quick since I have the bi-weekly Friday stuff to do, thank god. I owled Molly the second I got back into my office and she insisted of course that we stay for dinner. By the time it reaches 4PM I'm putting the finishing touches on a proposal for Monday and I hear Ron walk into my office. Before I look up he is sitting in the chair in front of my desk.

The papers in front of me no longer seem important when I see the boyish grin on his face. "Ready to go home?" He asks and I look down at the paperwork and close the folder, place it in my desk and stand up, "Absolutely."

Ron tells me he just has to run back and tell Harry he's leaving, which gives me time to put the stuff on my desk away and gather my things. I close my office door and Ron is walking towards me with his stuff in hand. He puts his hand on the small of my back and we head towards the lift, then to through the Atrium, and then suddenly we're home.

I don't realize that we've been quiet the entire time since we left the office until we put our things down in our house. I smile at Ron and we both go to our bedroom to get changed. I can't believe after all these years of being married and all the times we've had sex, I'm still this attracted to his body. Watching Ron walk around with his shirt off gives me butterflies every time. I guess changing together was a bad idea.

With the way Ron's staring at me I can tell he's thinking the same thing I am. We both grin a little and I pull a new shirt over my head which elicits a small frown from Ron.

"Ron as much as I would love to do exactly what is running through both of our heads, I still think we need some time," I smile a little and Ron nods in understanding and throws a shirt on. I take his hand and lead him back to the living room and we sit on the couch in silence, waiting for someone to begin.

"Okay so I know I asked you here to talk, but really I just need to ask you something."

Ron nods and turns his body towards me and joins both of our hands.

"Ron why don't you hate me?" I guess that came out easier than I thought it would. I continue because I can tell he doesn't understand. "I totally abandoned you when you needed me. I've been totally selfish and insane and I can barely even explain it because I still don't totally understand it and yet you stay, and you're here and you're being everything I need you to be. Why don't you hate me? What if there was something I could've done different that would've saved her? How can you even look at me? I'm the woman who probably killed your third child." Wow I didn't see that coming. I didn't even know I felt that way… I guess maybe I did a little bit, but I really didn't plan on telling him all that at once.

The shock on his face says a lot, but I need his words so I'm thankful when I hear his voice, "Hermione, after what happened, I understand that everyone grieves in their own way. Do I wish that you had confided in me and not pushed me away? Yes, of course I do. But I also know that if you felt anything like I did then just breathing everyday was an accomplishment. I came around faster only because I knew that one of us needed to be strong if we were going to survive this, but it hasn't been easy. I think about what happened everyday so don't think I don't. When I look at you I see this beautiful woman that I've been in love with for more than half my life. I see the mother of my children, and I see the brilliance in your eyes, and I feel the way I did the first time you kissed me. I could never hate you and I will never blame you for an accident. I think the problem here is that you need to stop blaming yourself. There's no way we could've known or done anything differently."

I lean forward and let Ron take me into his arms, and I sob a little and tell him honestly, "Ron I want more kids. More than anything I want more kids with you, but I'm scared. What if she's in heaven and she thinks we just replaced her?" As I say this it occurs to me that it's the reason I've been so hesitant to move on, I didn't want to feel like I was replacing one child with another.

"Mione, we will never have another third child, or second daughter. There will never be another Lizzy Weasley. She died two years ago. If we have more children, they will learn about their older sister who isn't with us, but she'll never be gone, you have to remember that those who love us don't ever really leave us as long as we remember them."

I sit in Ron's arm and take in what he said and realize he's totally right. After at least half an hour has passed, I'm not crying anymore, and I sit up.

"Thank you for coming home with me today Ron."

"Of course," Ron smiles a little shyly and adds, "So how many kids do you really want?"

I laugh a little, "Well see now, Rose is eight, Hugo is four, Lizzy would be two," I pause and can't believe I said her name, I haven't since that day at the hospital, Ron noticed because he's now holding me even tighter, "Ron I honestly just always thought we'd have tons of kids. I don't know if we'd ever break the Weasley record or anything, but Rose is going to be at school in a few years and I really want a full house, I never had that growing up and I want that for my kids."

"We can start trying again whenever you're ready you know," Ron kisses the top of my head; "I always said I wanted as many little Hermione's running around as I could."

I smile into Ron's chest and we sit together for a few minutes longer, and I just need to be closer to him so I start kissing my way up his neck until I meet his lips and I kiss him full on the mouth. As it starts to heat up I sit up and move to sit in his lap, straddling him. I can feel his hands running on my back and my fingers are going through his hair. I lean back a little and arch towards him as he pulls my shirt up and kisses my stomach. I pull Ron's shirt right off and he does the same to me.

We haven't felt each other like this in such a long time and suddenly my bra is discarded and on the floor. Ron stands up, holding me up while I straddle his waist and carries us back to the bedroom, leaving our discarded clothes on the floor of our living room. When we get to the bed he puts me down gently and leans over top of me. This is too fast, isn't it? I mean, we just got back on track yesterday and now we're in bed together? I know it's too fast so I break away for a second.

"Ron we cannot have sex right now." I breathe deeply and I know my bare chest is moving up and down at a rate that will have him very excited. He looks a bit disappointed but not surprised.

"Hermione we have at least twenty minutes until we need to be at my parents' house for dinner, how about until then you just let me make you feel good?" Ron's grin is a hard one to say no to, so I hesitantly agree and we're right back where we started. He kisses me again and starts moving down my neck while fondling my breasts and then I feel him use his mouth on me and I involuntarily arch towards him in pleasure. His fingers are undoing my pants and a part of me wants to stop him, but I know from experience that he likes to play with me as much as I like to play with him, so I allow it to continue.

Soon my pants are off and Ron's fingers are working miracles inside my knickers. I love the look he gets in his eyes when he knows he's giving me pleasure. He kisses me deeply as we works his finger magic and then kisses down my neck and chest, pulling down my knickers and I feel his mouth on me. In an instant I forget about everything else and I focus on the feeling of him between my legs. It doesn't take long and a few minutes later I cry out as I find my release and Ron climbs back up my body and kisses me softly.

"It has been way too long since I got to do that," he looks a little cocky when he smiles at me, and I realize quickly that I'm totally naked. When I look down at the state of my body I notice that his pants are still on and that he definitely enjoys touching me. I smile and reach down and start undoing his pants.

"Mione you don't have to," he starts but I cut him off with a kiss.

"Ronald, you're not getting laid and after what you just did you definitely deserve at least this much," I smile as I get his pants down and then I add, "besides, it's been way to long since I got to play with him."

I reach my hand under his boxers and stroke his length which makes him moan a little in pleasure. After being with him for years, I know exactly how to make him scream and after a few minutes of using my hand, I run my tongue along his length and it pushes him over the age and he cries out in pleasure.

I smile at a job well done and he gathers me into his arms, neither of us caring that we're still totally naked. After a few minutes of lying in each others arms, I realize that we need to be at the Burrow very soon and that we both need to shower.

"Ron come on lets go shower so we can get to your parent's house," I say as I pull him up off the bed.

He smiles at me and I know I need to clarify, "We are only showering Ron; we'll be late otherwise."

We go into the bathroom and after a quick, mostly innocent shower, we're back in our bedroom and we get dressed quickly.

Before we apparate to the Burrow Ron turns to me and I can tell he's trying to say something so I stay quiet for a second, "Hermione thank you for today. I don't just mean the messing around either, I'm really glad we talked about the children thing."

I smile and assure him that I'm happy about it too, then we apparate to the backyard of the Burrow. The yard still looks the same and we can hear Molly and Arthur, joined with some members of the family within. Ron looks at me, as if making sure I'm okay and when I nod he puts his arm around me and we walk inside.


	5. Chapter 5

here's another chapter... thanks for the reviews, keep em coming! please read and enjoy! 

disclaimer: i own nothing

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The second we went inside everything went quiet. Molly, Ginny and Harry were standing in the kitchen, Arthur, George and Angelina (George's wife) were standing near the table and the kids, Harry and Ginny's kids James, Albus, and Lily, and George's kids Fred, and Roxanne, and of course our two little darlings were all sitting around the table. Once everyone realized how quiet they got, Molly made the first move. 

"Hello there you two! It's so nice to have you here for dinner!" I smile at Molly's enthusiasm and soon the noise level is back. Ron and I take off our shoes and head over to our kids quickly to say hello. After being told by Rose and Hugo about their day, I notice that George and Angelina are looking at me a bit curiously so I go to say hello.

"Hey George, Angelina," I pause, "it's really great to see both of you. Your kids are getting so big!" 

George shakes off his shock and suddenly I'm wrapped in a Weasley hug, I smile when he puts me down, "Hermione it's been way too long." I nod and agree, then notice that Ron and Harry are in the kitchen with Ginny and Molly so I excuse myself and walk over to say hello.

"HERMIONE!" Ginny grabs me and hugs me, "God I miss you, we haven't talked in DAYS. What's new? Tell me everything."

I laugh at Ginny's enthusiasm and I can tell Molly is waiting for answers as well. Ron looks up from his conversation with Harry and winks at me so I decide to tell Ginny about the new developments.

"Well basically the other day I finally talked to Ron about everything, and I think we're going to be a lot better now," I barely finished the sentence before Molly was hugging me. Her hugs are always so intense and full of love it makes me want to cry, but I hold it together and notice she wasn't as lucky because there are definitely tears in her eyes as she pulls away.

I offer to help with dinner only to be literally chased from the kitchen by Molly. Ron grabs me and gives me a quick kiss on my way out and Ginny follows me into the living room so we can talk.

"Wow, I'm so glad to see you two are back Hermione, it has been way to long," she tells me as we sit down.

I nod and agree, "Okay Gin you can't tell anyone this part, I'm not sure if I'm supposed to or not, Ron and I didn't really get that far when we were talking about it." I can tell she's intrigued so I continue, "Well I wouldn't say that it's something that's going to happen right away or anything, but I think we're going to try to have more kids."

I can tell Ginny is a bit surprised, but when her face breaks in to a smile it makes me feel very happy, "Oh Mi, I'm so glad to hear that. I always thought you two would have the most kids in the family with your intense fights and make ups." We both chuckle at the thought. "So does this mean you two are sleeping together again?"

Something to value about Ginny's character is that she absolutely does not beat around the bush, a quality which has only strengthened as she's gotten older. "No, not yet, I don't think it would be a good idea for us to rush back into having sex, but that doesn't mean we aren't doing anything." I giggle and blush a little when I say this and Ginny looks like she wants to give me a high five, "God I feel like I'm a teenager again these days."

Ginny laughs, "Yeah, but you guys will get back there, and probably fast too. The intense kind of love you two have for each other is only ever easy to act out in fights or sex."

On that happy note, Harry entered the room to tell us dinner was ready and we went into the kitchen to join the family at the table. The kids were at one end while the adults were at the other, with George and Harry sitting closest to the kids. George's good ear was facing the adults so the noise the kids were making doesn't bother him too much, but he can also joke around with them at the same time. I take my seat next to Ron and smile when I see that he's already made sure I have my favourite wine in my glass and give him a kiss on the cheek in appreciation. I can tell his family is still getting used to the idea of me being around again because whenever I do something like this it makes them smile or stare. I guess it should bother me, but it doesn't really, I'm just glad to be back.

Halfway through dinner, Arthur looks at me from the head of the table and asks, "So Hermione how was the lunch date?" This manages to get the attention of everyone except the kids and I smile and reply, "It was excellent Arthur. Ron took me to this place we used to meet at when I went back to school for seventh year." Ron picks up my hand in his and kisses it and then Harry decides to open his mouth.

"I think you're lying. It must've gone really well for you two to leave two hours early from work today," he's smiling and on the verge of breaking out in laughter. I can tell that Ron is probably blushing as much as I am, and all the adults at the table look on the verge of laughing as well.

Thankfully Ron said something so I don't have to, "Well it was a slow Friday and we had some stuff to take care of. Thanks though Harry." Harry is actually laughing now, and I can't help but giggle a bit. The rest of dinner goes by without incident and I just love the feeling of being back in the company of the wonderful family I have again. By the time we go home it's late, but we promise to come back for dinner tomorrow night so the entire family will be there. Saturday nights were family night at the Burrow and generally everyone who could would come for dinner. 

We get back into our house and it's late so I take Rose to bed while Ron takes Hugo and we meet back up in our room. Ron and I are both tired, but I can't help but feel slightly exhilarated from going to the Burrow again. It's a big personal triumph for me to return to a place that holds so many memories, good and bad considering I spent a lot of time there during my pregnancy. I'm glad that not everyone was there for my first night back; it was awkward enough as it was. Actually the curious glances and all the concern just makes me wonder what kind of questioning Ron has been through for the past year. 

Ron was amazing though, he still knows exactly what I need and want. Like tonight, he made sure to hold my eye and catch my eye when things got tense. I smile at him and walk into the bathroom to brush my teeth, when I return to the bedroom I find my pyjamas laid out on our bed with words floating in the air above them, "Living Room, xo." God I love him.

I throw on the pyjamas quickly and when I journey to the living room I find Ron sitting on the couch with a big fuzzy blanket and the room set up to watch a movie. He's holding a remote, and Chicago is queued up to be played (My favourite movie and a movie Ron hates.) I grin and hop down next to him on the couch. It's quiet for a second and Ron pushes play so I take the opportunity to cuddle up next to my handsome husband and we get settled with the blanket. Just before the titles start I lean up and whisper in Ron's ear, "Baby, you were amazing today," I give his ear a nibble and add, "And thanks for this movie." Ron doesn't say anything but he gives me a smile and wraps his arm tightly around me.

I feel weight shift and realize I'm being carried. The movie must've ended and I must've fallen asleep because I'm now being transported somewhere and I can only assume it's to bed. I love the feeling of being in Ron's arms- it reminds me of our wedding night- so I stay 'asleep.' I think he can tell I'm awake but he doesn't say anything. He balances me on his leg and holds me with one arm so he can pull back the covers on our bed. I feel myself being laid down and a kiss comes on my forehead as the blankets tuck me in. 

The weight on the bed shifts and I know Ron must be in bed next me. I want to cuddle with him so I forget about pretending to be asleep and roll over and rest my head on his chest. He chuckles and I open my eyes a little, smiling, "You knew I was awake didn't you?" 

"Definitely, you've always sucked at fake sleeping."

God it feels good to be back so close to his body again, "I love you so much Ron." I feel his hands rubbing my arms and he kisses the top of my head before replying, "I love you too Mione." I lay with my head on his chest and I feel his breathing change as he falls asleep and I let the sound of his heartbeat lull me to sleep as well.

The next morning I wake up nestled into Ron's chest and hear yelling coming from the hallway- it's Saturday and Rose and Hugo are up, and they're headed our way. I smile up at Ron and kiss him good morning and the kids come running in to interrupt us as they jump up on the bed.

"Mum! Dad! It's Burrow day today!" Hugo says excitedly.

I laugh, "Hugo honey its Burrow day almost everyday for you." He laughs and gets a wondrous look on his face and Rose adds, "Yes but today is Saturday which means Uncle Charlie might be there!" Ron and I laugh, all the children love their Uncle Charlie, he may be single after all these years but he's got amazing stories that drive the kids wild.

The kids hop off the bed and we can hear them running down the hallway and into the living room. I look back up at Ron and we start kissing again, which slowly turns into a fairly heated snog. Morning kisses are definitely the best way to wake up- almost. Our kisses start to break up and I say between them, "Babe can we go to my parents today?" another kiss, then he replies, "of course, if that's" kiss, "what you" kiss, "want to do." I'm now totally on top of Ron and straddling him as are kisses get deeper and deeper. His chest is already bare and I kiss down his neck and my mouth finds his nipples. "Baby we have to get out of be-" he tries to finish but his voice is caught in his throat as I kiss down his stomach, "the kids are up." 

I smile up at him from my position I'm stationed at near his waist, "Don't worry babe this won't take long." I wink and lean forward across him to the table beside the bed and grab his wand, closing the door with a quick spell and placing a silencing charm on it. I work my way back down his body, "I just want to give you a quick thank you," I undo the draw string of his pyjamas and pull them down, revealing his already throbbing member, "for how amazing you are." With that I take him in my mouth and work my magic quickly.

After a few minutes I can taste him in my mouth and I suck harder until he's totally finished. I smile as I pull away and start to stand up, "Now, I'm going to go and brush my teeth and you're going to go and get the kids to the kitchen for breakfast." Ron is still panting as I make my way to the bathroom and I smile at my handiwork. By the time I get back to into our bedroom Ron is putting a shirt on but he is still red in the face. "Sorry, I was trying to get to the kitchen but I needed a few seconds to recover."

I smile at his sudden boyishness and wrap my arms around him, "that's okay, we can make breakfast together." He smiles at me and gives me a quick kiss, "Thank you for this morning." I kiss him back, "Come on, let's go feed those kids of ours." We walk out to the kitchen arm and arm and separate when Ron goes to grab the kids while I grab my wand off the counter and get breakfast started.

Once we're all seated at the table and munching on deliciousness, I ask the kids, "So you two, your dad and I were thinking that we'd go see my parents today. What do you think of that?" Rose practically drops her fork and says right away, "YES! Can I pick out some more muggle books from your collection?" I hear Ron chuckle and see him shoot a look my way, "Yep, she's definitely your daughter Hermione." We smile as I assure Rose that she can pick out as many new books as she wants.

After breakfast Ron and Hugo decide to play some chess while I give Rose a bath, once we're finished Ron gives Hugo a bath while Rose and I read Hogwarts: a History. Both the kids are clean so Ron and I take our turns showering and getting ready for the day so we can head out to muggle neighbourhood. My parents only live about an hour away by car, which is generally how we travel there because they are muggles. It's already 11:30 because we woke up so late and after we gather our things and pile into the car we're off to my parents' house.

When we pull into the driveway my mum is in the garden and rushes over to say hello, while shouting over her shoulder for my dad. The kids get to her first and practically tackle her to the ground, making her laugh and smile. Ron and I stand near them holding hands while they say their hello's, then my dad comes out the front door and the kids run at him allowing us a chance to say hi to my mum.

I let go of Ron's hand for a second and hug my mum, "Mum it's so nice to see you!" We release our hug and my mum turns to Ron and hugs him as well, "It's so nice to see you two, it has been way to long." Ron knows she's referring to us being together during a visit since I've seen them by myself but he takes it in stride and takes my hand before replying, "I totally agree Jane," then he turns to me and adds with a wink, "totally." 

My dad is now carrying Hugo as we walk towards the door and he greets us halfway, "Hey kids! Rose ran inside to find some books," my dad shoots me a look and shakes Ron's hand. I smile and hug my Dad, while getting a piece of Hugo whose still in his arms and after our greetings are finished we all head inside.

Going into my childhood home is hardly as great as going to the Burrow anymore. It's weird, but as soon as I found out I was a witch my house just never felt like home again, especially after experiencing any amount of time at the Burrow, but still, it is very nice to be able to see my parents whenever I want and sometimes it is nice to withdraw myself from the magical world and find some solace in the quiet muggle life. 

We go out back onto my parent's deck and find that Rose is already squirreled away with a book in their hammock. It's kind of a blast from the past walking through the doors out into the backyard to see a bushy-haired girl reading a book just like I used to, and I think my parents see it too. 

"Gosh, if she didn't have that red Weasley hair I would think it's my little Hermione out here again," my mum says as we all sit down. 

Ron smiles, "Yeah well good luck getting rid of this hair. I'm surprised Harry and Ginny managed to have two kids without red hair, his dad's mop must be a strong gene." We all laugh, knowing that it's true that few things can beat the power of the Weasley genes, although both of our kids do have incredibly thick hair like mine.

"Fleur and Bill's kids all have incredible blonde hair," I say just to poke at Ron. He laughs, "Yeah well I guess being part Veela is stronger than the Weasley trait." We all giggle a little and Hugo starts to get antsy in his grandpa's arms so my dad sets him down and he goes running off chasing my parent's cat.

"So," my mother starts, "What's new with you two?" Ah, the probing for answers, and with very little concealment too.

"Work is going well," Ron says, "kind of boring actually, not a lot of dark action anymore." He smiles at the thought and I reply, "Is that why you and Harry were standing around laughing all morning yesterday?"

My mum raises her eyebrows, "Hermione why were you watching them work? Didn't you have anything to do?" Rats, I hate it when she turns stuff on me, but she is right. "Yeah I did, I was just a little distracted because Ron and I had a lunch date yesterday and I couldn't really concentrate." I blush a little at being so candid with my parents, but I can tell from their smiles that they're happy to hear that Ron and I are on better terms.

"How's your family Ron?" My dad asks. Ron replies quickly, "Oh they're all doing really well actually. Dad's having a great time at work playing with muggle stuff all day, mum's perfectly content babysitting her grandchildren during the work week and everyone is really busy at their jobs. George is thinking about selling his Hogsmeade branch of the joke shop to Lee Jordan though, to keep it in the family sort of but without having to actually run it. I think it's a lot of work to run two shops basically alone. It was probably easier when I was helping out," he trails off and I know he's thinking about Fred so I grip his hand a little tighter. Fred's death still hangs over the family and although we all love him and treasure his memory, it is hard to think about what happened.

"That's good to hear. How many grandchildren are in the Weasley works these days?" My mum asks, I can tell she's wondering how Molly can handle it all. I chuckle a little at the thought before I answer, "Well Bill and Fleur's two eldest daughters are at Hogwarts now, Victoire and Dominique, so it's just their son Louis who's at the Burrow during the week sometimes, Percy and Audrey's daughter Molly is at Hogwarts right now and Lucy will be heading their next year, right Ron?" he nods at me in assurance and I continue, "George's son Fred and daughter Roxanne are usually at the store with him during the week but sometimes he needs a break and they're at the Burrow too. Then of course our two lovely children are there most of the work week unless one of us has a spare morning and Harry and Ginny's kids too. But James will be starting at Hogwarts in a couple years and then Albus a year after that, when Rose goes. Oh and Teddy Lupin is at Hogwarts now too so he's not around as much anymore either."

"My, what a big family. I can't believe that our one child managed to marry into such a huge family," my dad laughs. It is kind of unbelievable, although I read somewhere that only children usually end up married to people with big families so it can't be that rare. 

"What can I say sir, your daughter just never could resist the Weasley charm. It must be all the red hair." We all laugh at Ron's ridiculous joke and smile at Hugo as he comes running up to my chair.

"Mum I'm hungry," he says and I laugh a little at his expression, he looks so much like Ron when he wants food. My mum and I share a look and I pick Hugo up and put him on Ron's lap, give them both a kiss on the head and my mum and I walk inside to get some food ready.

In the kitchen I know the cross-examination is coming, so I mentally prepare myself to answer my mother's questions. 

"So you and Ron seem a lot better," my mum says as she opens the fridge and pulls out lunch food.

I smile and help her prepare with my wand to save time as I answer, "Yeah, we had a great talk a couple days ago, and yesterday and I think we're going to be okay. Once I told him all the things I'd been feeling it actually got really easy to slide back into where we were, almost where we were anyway." My mum smiles at me- god I hope she didn't think about sex when I said that.

"I'm glad to hear that," she pauses and looks a bit uncomfortable so now I'm terrified of whatever is coming, "did you tell him about the more children thing?" I swallow hard, I didn't really mean to tell my mum my thoughts on having more kids but it sort of slipped out one day when I was really upset. 

"Actually yes, we did talk about it," I pause for dramatic effect, knowing she desperately wants to know if she'll be getting anymore grandchildren, "I think that given some time it wouldn't be out of the question. We have a ways to go before that I think though." She drops the spoon in her hand and gives me a huge hug. 

"Oh Hermione, it's so nice to have you back," she smiles when she says it and she seems so sincere but I can't help but wonder what kind of zombie I must have been for the past two years considering everyone's reactions to having me "back." Although I suppose it is nice to know that the people around me noticed that I'm getting better.

We make our way into the backyard and put lunch down on the table. Ron helps Hugo to a sandwich while I go over to the hammock to see if Rose is hungry. As I approach the hammock Rose looks incredibly wrapped up in the muggle novel she selected and I notice she's reading Pride & Prejudice, which is way beyond her years.

"Rose honey, are you hungry?" I ask and she barely looks up as she shakes her head. "Mum I'm reading, I really want to finish this chapter and then I'll come and eat." I laugh a little at her dedication and know that if I went back twenty years I would've said the exact same thing to someone trying to drag me away from a book in the middle of a chapter; in fact I still do say that. "Okay sweetie but come and eat when you want to."

I make my way back to where everyone else is sitting and join in the conversation and grab a sandwich. Ron is telling my parents about the Quidditch world cup game that we went to a few years into our marriage- before Ginny retired- and they're laughing at his telling of when she almost got knocked off her broom by a stray bludger. It's simple times like this when I love him the most. My parents aren't exactly keen on the magical world- they support me being a part of it but they don't really understand it, and I love the way Ron can bring it to life for them in a way that so few people can. It's just another part of my life that he knows is important to me so he makes sure I know that he knows it's important. I think I'm going to have sex with him tonight.

Oh My God. I'm shocked- I hope no one noticed me drop my sandwich in my lap. Where did that thought come from? I'm sitting here with my parents and husband and KIDS and I just decided that I'm going to have sex with my husband tonight for the first time in a very very long time. I chuckle a little and the looks on everyone's faces brings me out of my day dream. Shit. I hope I wasn't gone too long.

"You alright there Mione?" Ron asks, looking a little worried but more intrigued than anything else. "Yeah, sorry about that, just got lost in my thoughts again," I smile, and my parents turn back to the conversation and Ron leans over and nudges me, "that brain of yours never stops does it?" With a wink and a smile we return to the conversation with my parents and get updated on their lives as dentists. Half an hour later Rose joins us and eats lunch before running inside to collect more books to take home when we leave. 

The time goes by quickly and before we know it it's 2pm and time to leave if we want to get home in time to go to the Burrow for family night. We give my parents hugs goodbye and promise to come again soon before we hop in our car and make our way home. An hour and a half later, thanks to traffic, we're home and have to rush to get ready for dinner at the Burrow. Hugo and Rose are totally content playing in the living room so I nod at Ron in the direction of our bedroom and when he follows me in I close the door behind him and kiss him with as much passion as I can muster. He responds quickly and pushes me against the wall of our bedroom.

When we finally pull away and regain our breath, I know it's time to leave for the Burrow but I want to tell him first that I'm ready to make love to him again. "Ron, tonight after we get home, I really want to make love to you again," he looks a bit shocked, so I explain, "sitting there today with my parents and just being around you it makes me wonder what the hell I'm waiting for. I'm still scared of getting pregnant right away because I really don't know if I can handle that yet, but I really do want to feel you again. I just want to be us, the way we used to be. We never used to be able to have our hands off each other for a minute when we were alone or around others. Ginny always tells me we have an intense connection but I didn't really understand what she meant until I thought about our physical life. Even now when we're not having sex all I want to do is have your hands all over me. I want to go back to having sex for fun again, with no pressure of trying to get pregnant or anything else." 

Ron doesn't really say anything, but instead kisses me very softly, "Hermione Weasley, all you ever have to say is 'make love to me' and I will. It doesn't have to be tonight if you decide you're not ready, but if you are then be prepared to sleep in late tomorrow," he smiles again and kisses me gently then gives me a hug. I smile into his body and keep my arm around him as we walk into the living room to floo over to the Burrow. Ron decides to go first with Rose and I take Hugo afterwards.


	6. Chapter 6

disclaimer: i own nothing...

heres another chapter, i hope you all enjoy it! please review!

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When we arrive at the Burrow I put Hugo down right away and he goes running to find all his cousins, and I suspect his Uncle Charlie. I laugh and head to the kitchen because I can hear Ron laughing. I smile at the sight when I walk in: Bill, Charlie, George and Ron are all standing in the kitchen with their parents laughing hysterically at something. They all take a deep breath when they see me and Bill is the first to react.

"Hermione! It's been a long time," he wraps me in a hug which I return, "how are you?" 

"I'm great Bill, how are you and Fleur and the kids?" He smiles and gives me a brief update before I see a red head running at me and suddenly I'm off the ground and Charlie is spinning me around in circles.

"Damn you girl! It has been way too long since I've seen you," Charlie says as he puts me down and winks at me. "Don't swear Charlie," I giggle out as I regain my footing. George doesn't do any grand gestures considering he saw me the night before, but he does smile and say hello before Molly gives me a classic Molly-the-bone-crusher hug. I chuckle a bit as we part and walk to Ron who puts his arm around me and I lean into his body and wrap my arms around his waist. 

"Where did all the kids go?" 

"Oh they're all out back with Harry and Ginny. Harry bought a bunch of toy brooms for them all and they're busy riding them I'd reckon," Ron and I share a smile and he kisses my forehead before we announce we're going to go outside and see them.

I feel sort of like a giddy teenager on our way out to the backyard. Ron has his arms around me from behind and we're walking like we're only one person, giggling the entire way. When we reach the backyard I see Harry supervising the kids on brooms and Ginny leaps up in our direction.

"Hey you two!" she smiles and kisses us each on the cheek, "How was your parents house Mi?" 

"Oh it was great. It was actually really nice to see them again and Rose picked up a bunch of my old muggle novels to read," I laugh when I see Ginny roll her eyes. Ron leans down and kisses the side of my neck before in my ear, "I'm going to go play," I laugh and as we part he turns and winks then joins Harry.

I can tell Ginny is intrigued by our closeness, and her eyebrow lifting gaze says it all. "Alright, I'll tell you, but don't repeat this and remember that this is your brother and if you're not disgusted I might judge you," I laugh, "No we haven't started sleeping together again, although that might change tonight."

"Are you sure? You guys definitely seem like you've been up to something naughty with the get-a-roominess vibe," she's smiling but looks unconvinced.

"Well I did give him a fantastic wake up this morning," I laugh when the smile fades from her face and turns into a look of almost horror. "Well you asked!" 

"As gross as that is to know, I really am glad that you two are getting back to your usual selves. Seeing you two so wrapped up in each other reminds me of the good old days when you two could never keep your hands off each other."

I smile at the memories, "yeah I have a feeling those days are not behind us." I grin and we decide to leave the boys to their fun and go inside to help with dinner.

That night almost the entire family is in attendance so we're eating outside to fit everyone. Bill is here with his kids but without Fleur since she's ill, Charlie is here and sitting near the kids so he can tell them his stories, Percy and his wife and kids are all here, George and his family, Harry and Ginny and their kids, and Ron and me with Rose and Hugo. Needless to say there is no way we could all fit in the kitchen. I love the familiar chatter of everyone's conversations and I love even more that I can just sink right back into everything and no one is looking at me funny or asking awkward questions. 

Towards the end of dinner most of us are finished and Ron sits back in his chair and puts his arm around me. I smile at him and give him a quick kiss on the cheek and I can hear Ginny giggle when I do it. I shoot her a stare and then we both start laughing which draws more attention in our direction than I would've liked.

"Something funny girls?" Harry asks, but I have a feeling Ginny has already told him.

"Nope, nothing is funny Harry," I pause and lock eyes with Ginny, "Right Gin?"

She smiles and nods and although no one is convinced they return to what they're doing while Molly quickly waves her wand and disappears the dirty dishes. The kids run inside quickly because Charlie promises to meet them in the living room to tell more stories. I'm pretty certain all the other parents are as thankful as I am because they'll listen to him for hours until they fall asleep which is perfect because it means that we can all catch up.

The adults make their way inside but Ron and I hang back for a second and have to assure Ginny that we'll be there in a minute in order to get a moment alone. Once everyone is inside and the door is closed, no time is wasted and Ron covers my mouth with his.

I giggle a bit and Ron pulls away, "What?" he asks. 

"Oh nothing, I just love this. I love sneaking a snog while everyone is inside," I giggle again, "and god do I ever want you."

Ron smiles at this and kisses me again for a few minutes until we realize that if we don't go inside right now that we'll get bombarded with questions when we do. I laugh a little at the thought (god it feels good to laugh like this again) and we go inside and join the other adults who are sitting around the kitchen table catching up.

"Hey Harry, how is Teddy doing?" I ask, curious about the orphan who we all helped raise with the love his parents would've wanted him to have.

"Oh he's doing great. He loves Hogwarts, obviously, and I think he actually has a crush on a Weasley!" He's laughing now, that comment certainly caught Bill's attention considering his daughter is the eldest of the bunch at Hogwarts.

"Which Weasley?" Bill questions.

"I think he's got a wee crush on our young Victoire," Harry smiles, and I know it's because we both love the reactions of Weasley men when they get overprotective. Bill however, is unlike most Weasley men in a lot of ways, and replied only with a, "Well at least he's a good lad from a good family." I think everyone looks as shocked as me, at least I hope so, at Bill's non reaction to Teddy liking Victoire, but then he adds slyly, "and if he hurts my little girl, I'll be sure to hex him into oblivion." We all share a laugh at this and continue our conversations.

A couple of hours pass when Charlie walks into the room, "Okay parents, all of your kids are now asleep, you're welcome." I laugh at Charlie and smile, it's hard to believe such a great guy could still be single after all these years, but I think he is truly happy that way, despite Molly's desperation to marry him off and make him provide her with more grandchildren. We spend some time talking to Charlie and I notice it's getting on so I nudge Ron and we decide that it's time to leave.

I stand up from Ron's lap and take his hand as he stands up too. Hugs are given out around the room, and when I get to Ginny I give her a hug and she whispers in my ear, "Go get 'em tiger." I laugh and pull away shaking my head, then kiss Harry on the cheek and give Molly one final hug.

"Oh Hermione dear, will you be joining us again next week?" This caught the entire room's attention I notice, but I dismiss it and pretend I didn't see everyone's ears perk up. I smile and look at Ron who winks at me, "Yes Molly you'll see me next week, and probably the week after that, and maybe sometime this week too." When the entire room lets out a collective breath, Molly hugs me again and I see Arthur grip Ron's shoulder. He takes my hand again and leads me to the living room where we collect our kids and floo home. It's easy to keep the kids asleep and we put them straight to bed and head to our room.

"That was fun," I say to Ron as I take off my earrings and put them on the bureau, "even with all the questions."

He smiles at me, "They just miss you Mione, you are part of the family you know." I smile at this thought and I turn to face Ron. He's in a T-shirt and jeans, and I'm in much the same so as I walk towards him I take my shirt off and push him down on the bed, then climb onto his lap to straddle him.

"I know baby, and it's a great family to be a part of," I say before I kiss him in such a way that will obviously lead to more. I break our kiss to pull off his shirt and he flips me around so that he's on top of me and we're closer to our pillows on the bed. He smiles and pays extra attention to my chest as he removes my bra. I know it's been a while since we had sex, so I don't really think it's going to take very long to get him off, but I do wonder how tight I'm going to be after all this time- I hope it doesn't hurt. My thoughts are lost when Ron goes to work on my breasts, and I place my hands down on his belt and start to undo his trousers. Once they're undone he kicks them off and leans up to face me.

"I love you Mione, so much," he says and I can see tears in his eyes. It's at this point that I realize how much it has hurt him to not be a part of what I've been going through. To make love to him again is the final barrier that once we break down will reconnect us entirely and suddenly I can't wait to feel him inside me. "I love you too Ron," I say as I undo my pants and help him slide them off. I don't have the energy in me for foreplay tonight, or the desire, and he can sense that so he quickly rids us both of our knickers and positions himself at my entrance. He kisses me softly on the lips and pushes inside of me.

I can't believe how long I've gone without him to fill me up. The second he's in me I feel like I'm coming alive all over again. It doesn't last long- as I knew it wouldn't- but the love I feel when we both find our release is overpowering and I can feel myself shuddering as he gathers me in his arms and wraps us both in blankets. He tells me he loves me one more time and we slowly fade into sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

disclaimer: i own nothing...

i hope you all enjoy this update, its a long one... please read and review... the lack of reviews is kind of disheartening!... enjoy!

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I had definitely forgotten how good it feels to wake up in Ron's arms in the middle of the night after we've made love

I had definitely forgotten how good it feels to wake up in Ron's arms in the middle of the night after we've made love. I remember when we first started sleeping together I used to wake him up in the middle of the night all the time for another go. After we had Rose I guess we were just too exhausted all the time to comply with my cravings, and I'm actually totally exhausted right now from our busy day… and yet, all I want to do is wake him up. I love how he holds me when we sleep. The sound of his breath and the way his body feels like it was meant for me to use it as a pillow.

I pick up my head and place a few light kisses on Ron's chest, to gage his reaction and I'm delighted when I hear him softly mumble "Er-my- knee" in his sleep. I chuckle and kiss my way up his chest and up his neck and by the time I reach his lips I get an almost full response and slip my tongue into his mouth to wake him up the rest of the way. This elicits a soft moan from him and I smile when I remember that we're both still naked from earlier. Ron started getting hard immediately when he woke up with my naked body against him, so instead of wasting time, I decide to take things into my own hands and straddle him very quickly after a few short, hot minutes of fondling.

Ron's reaction when I take him in was worth it- his eyes opened very quickly in shock and he placed his hands on my waist to help me ride him. It doesn't take long before we both climax and this time I don't even roll off of him. I feel him slip out of me and get comfortable lying on top of his body, my head back in its usual place on his chest.

"God I missed this," Ron says as he kisses the top of my head. I know exactly what he means and reply, "Yeah, it's been way to long since a late night encounter took place." After a few more minutes, Ron's hands get still on my back and his breathing shifts and I know that he's drifted back to sleep. Still on top of him, I let sleep take me away as well.

I feel someone on top of me kissing my neck and I smile as I wake up and then Ron's mouth is covering mine. He kisses across my jaw line and under my ear love and I hear him whisper in my ear, "You did such a nice job of waking me up last night that I couldn't resist returning the favour." I'm definitely awake now as his hands are all over my body…

After our morning romp, I notice that its midmorning on a Sunday and our kids still aren't up. "Baby isn't it weird that the kids haven't come running in here yet?" Ron nods and we silently and reluctantly decide to get out of bed and put our clothes on. Once dressed, I walk to where Ron is standing and give him a deep but short kiss. "Thank you for last night," he replies and kisses me again, "and of course for this morning."

I kiss him and respond, "Baby, it was as good for me as it was for you." I kiss him once more and then lean in and whisper, "I forgot how amazing it feels to have you inside me." I can still see the shock on his face when I pull away and feel a twitch against my leg. "Come on Ron, we don't have time for another go right now." We both laugh and leave our bedroom hand in hand. Taking a peek into Hugo's room tells us he's still asleep and when we look into Rose's room we find her reading another book.

We both enter the room and sit on each side of her bed and she puts the book down, smiling. "Honey why are you reading in here?"

Rose looks a bit uncomfortable and Ron and I share a look of terror and pray to Merlin that she didn't come into our bedroom.

"Well I got up to go to your room but I could hear you guys in there and you sounded busy so I just came back in here to read," she tells us innocently, while my mind is exploding. I can't believe I let my eight year old daughter hear me in the throws of passion with my husband. She doesn't seem to know what's wrong with it though, and asks, "Are you two happy again?" My heart breaks when I hear her say this, with traces of vulnerability in her young voice. I don't think I could talk right now if I wanted to, thankfully Ron answers for us.

"Honey, your mum and I love each other very much and we always have. I know things have been off for awhile now but I things are going to get better again," he says softly and strokes his daughters cheek. She smiles and says quietly, "good, because I didn't like it when you two were sad."

Ron and I move at the same time and hug her together, "Don't worry my sweet little girl, we aren't sad anymore." I can feel tears in my eyes when I say this, and thankfully Ron puts his other hand on my back and assures me he's still there. I give him a teary smile and decide it's time to get up, "Okay, let's go make breakfast."

With that we all head out to the kitchen and Ron makes breakfast while I read with Rose. After about 20 minutes of noise, Hugo comes out of his room rubbing his eyes and walks straight up to me and starts climbing into my lap. I laugh a bit and pick him up and he sits with Rose and me as we wait for Ron to finish breakfast. I can't believe I've been so absent from my life for so long when I had such an amazing family to be with, thank god things are different.

Okay, it's been six weeks since I decided things were going to be different and man have they ever been different. I just recently stopped going to the muggle therapist about two days ago, on Wednesday, because I really do feel that I'm way past where I was and I would like it if now when I need someone to talk to I go back to talking to Ron about everything, which I have been these past few weeks and it's been great. It feels like we're newlyweds all over again. Sneaking kisses around the office and making love every night, sometimes more than once, it's completely refreshing.

We've gone to all the Weasley dinners in the past six weeks, and things seem to be back to normal on that front as well. Less awkwardness and people now count on seeing me there again, which is a very nice feeling. Ron and I arrive at work together every morning after dropping the kids off with Molly and we have lunch everyday and leave together every night. Even people at the Ministry have finally stopped giving us a bewildered stare when they see us together again.

It's late in the afternoon now on a Friday and Ron will be coming into my office soon so we can go with Harry to the Burrow to pick up the kids and then head to Harry and Ginny's for dinner. I pack up the rest of my work and look up to see Harry coming into my office.

"Knock knock," he says as he walks through the door. I grin a little, "What can I do for you Mr. Potter?"

He rolls his eyes at me and replies, "Ron's on his way, I was just bored watching him finish paperwork so I thought I would come and visit my favourite sister." I laugh, "How nice considering I'm your only sister."

Harry gets comfortable on a chair in front of my desk and brings up the subject of kids. "I can't believe how old all my kids are getting, James is going to be at Hogwarts in a couple years and then Al, and then my little girl too. It's kind of hard to believe that we were that age when we met each other."

"I know what you mean, with how much reading Rose does I think she's going to be an even better student than I was- plus she has the advantage of growing up around magic, and then my little guy will go too. The house is going to be really quiet. Especially when your kids and our kids are gone," I reply and hope he doesn't detect the sadness in my voice, but it's Harry, so he does.

"Mi, what are you thinking?"

"I don't know Harry," he gives me an incredulous look that says 'as if there is anything you don't know,' and I continue, "Well I can't say I'm not happy with two kids, I just always thought I'd have more. Well obviously you know that considering what happened two years ago, but I really just didn't think something like that would happen to us." I can tell Harry is unsure how to respond, I never talk about what happened unless it's with Ron so I guess I understand his hesitation.

"Mi, we aren't too old yet. You and Ron can still have more kids. You're in your early thirties. If that's what you want then you guys should do it," he looks sincere and I feel tears in my eyes just as Ron walks in and I try to wipe them away without him noticing but he definitely does.

"Potter what did you do?" He doesn't sound mad, but definitely concerned.

"Oh no Ron he didn't do anything, we were just talking and I got sad about stuff, it's not his fault," Ron kisses my forehead and puts his arm around me and Harry looks a tad uncomfortable.

"What were you talking about?"

"Kids," is my response and I know that Ron gets it.

"Oh," Ron strokes my hair, "Sorry Harry, not your fault." Harry looks slightly relieved and I laugh a little at Ron's reaction.

"Okay enough of this, it's Friday night and we have plans so let's go get our kids," I smile and grab my jacket while the boys doddle around and we leave my office and head up to the Atrium and seconds later we're at the Burrow.

We can hear the kids in the kitchen with Molly and we all head in that direction together. When we enter the room a red headed child is running at me and I scoop him up to find that it's Hugo, and he is very happy about something.

"Hello Molly," I say as I notice her looking at Hugo in my arms, she returns my greetings as Ron and Harry start packing up the kids stuff and I smile at Hugo and ask, "Okay now what has you so excited?"

Hugo is still smiling when he whispers in my ear, "Grammy made cookies today," I laugh at his excitement at such a simple act, and at the same time I'm a bit worried that we're going to have a lot of very excited kids with us for dinner tonight.

Harry and Ron have everything together so we take the kids with us as we floo over to the Potter's house for dinner. Upon arrival it's clear that Ginny has been home for a few hours because the entire living room is set up for the kids to play and the dining room has the table set for adults, with the kitchen ready for kids.

"Oh Gin you didn't have to go into all this effort for us," I smile and give her a kiss on the cheek in greeting.

"Oh no, it's not a problem at all, I got home a couple hours ago and just decided it might be nice to be able to have some adult conversation tonight, but I bewitched the kitchen and living room to sound an alarm if anything too serious happens- we can't take any chances with James and Al around these days, I swear, they got all the mischief maker genes from Fred, George, and Harry's dad."

I laugh at Ginny's comment and agree, knowing that Hugo has been following around his older cousins for a while and seems to constantly be a little bit more of a trouble maker afterwards. Harry and Ron had finally joined us in the kitchen and after they both greet Ginny, Harry finds us some wine while Ron wraps his arm around my waist and gives me a quick kiss on the neck. I lean into his body for a second and move to kiss his mouth and after getting more than a little caught up in the moment we hear someone clearing their throat and when we pull away we find Ginny standing there with an absolutely humongous smile plastered on her face.

"Okay guys, as much as I love that you're back to your old selves, I really don't need to see it in my kitchen," she chuckles as Harry returns and she helps him by grabbing some wine glasses as Ron and I just smile at each other. We used to be fairly shy about public displays of affection but after the first year or two of our relationship we found that we couldn't really keep our hands off each other regardless of where we were and we get considerably less embarrassed about it now than when we were younger.

Harry passes us each a glass of wine and the conversation turns to the usual updates on how everyone's work is going and we enjoy small talk for a few more minutes before Ginny announces that dinner is ready so Ron and Harry go and gather the kids to get them into the kitchen while I help Ginny set out their plates. By the time we get the kids seated with their dinner and get them to promise to behave while we sit in the other room, I'm very hungry.

Sitting around Harry and Ginny's dinner table reminds me of when we were all first married and I can't help but feel a tad nostalgic. I smile at the memories when I hear Ginny say my name, "Sorry Gin what was that?"

"Oh I was just talking about how strange it's going to be when the kids are all at Hogwarts," she replies casually and I notice that Ron seems to be listening carefully and grips my hand a little tighter, knowing that I have issues with this topic.

"Yeah, I know, it's strange. It feels like just yesterday that they were little babies and now it seems like they're all grown up," I reply with a hint of sadness in my voice, "I mean, Hugo's turning five soon and Rose will be nine and…" I trail off as I'm reminded of our other daughter. I know that the others can tell what I'm thinking about and I'm not surprised when I feel Ron stand up from his chair and crouch down next to mine. He kisses me lightly on the forehead and tucks a stray piece of hair behind my ear.

I didn't really notice that I'm crying, not until I felt a tear drop off my cheeks and hit my hands that had been resting in my lap. I smile through my tears, and realize that I've totally ruined the mood of our dinner, "Oh I'm sorry guys, I didn't really see this coming," it's true; I suppose I cry a lot, but I'd already had an outburst earlier with Harry I really just didn't see this happening at all.

It's Ginny who speaks first in reply after a few minutes of silence, allowing me to stop crying and Ron to go back to his chair. "I'm sorry Hermione; I really didn't mean to bring up…" I smile sadly in return and assure her, "No worries Gin, believe me this isn't your fault. It happens a lot," I decide to break the ice a little, "just ask your husband, he made me cry at work today."

Harry looks a bit scared by the glare he's receiving from Ginny, but quickly jumps to his own defence, "Well I didn't mean to, I mean, I didn't…" Ron laughs at his stutter and claps him on the back while winking at me, I can always rely on Ron to change the subject, "Harry she's kidding, Ginny, really don't worry about it, let's just finish our dinner because I am starving."

"No surprise there," I say as the conversation starts to lighten up again. "Oh Gin, your mum made cookies earlier so if the kids continue to be really hyper all night you know where to place blame," we all chuckle a bit at the thought of Ginny getting mad at her mum, and I'm not surprised when she replies, "Damn that woman, she knows what those cookies used to do to us when we were little, is this her way of getting revenge?" this elicits more laughter and the mood is much better as we finish up our meals and Ginny announces that it's time for desert.

We learn quickly that desert for the adults is in fact specialty alcohol flavoured in deliciousness over ice cream while the kids who are still shockingly hyper from earlier get very miniscule portions of ice cream without the added dressing. The kids are finished much quicker than us adults and they all disappear from the kitchen to the living room where Rose, I'm sure, is reading while the rest play chess or exploding snap.

Once we're all finished Ron and Harry head to the living room to make sure nothing is getting broken, or, as I suspect, to talk about the Quidditch game that was being played that evening. Ginny and I use our wands to quickly wash the dishes and clean up the place from dinner and suddenly we're talking about very important issues while we stand in the kitchen nursing a couple glasses of wine.

"Okay Hermione, I know that you don't want to talk about this and that this is probably a really inopportune time, but I have to know, what is it with the children growing up topic that makes you cry every time it comes up? I mean, obviously I know about what happened, but is that the only thing there is to it?"

I've always admired Ginny's candidness, envied it even, but always hated it when it was used on me and I have never hated it as much as I do in this moment. I surprise myself when I find that I'm not crying, and my guess is because I've done a lot of crying today already. I take a few minutes to get my words together and I slowly reply to Ginny.

"Well Gin," deep breath, I can see the curiosity in her eyes coupled with worry, "it makes me sad because I always wanted to have a lot of kids and now when I think about our only two kids growing up and leaving for school it just makes me feel like I've done something wrong by not having more, and I'm sad because one of my children will never get to grow up. I mean, obviously the more simple reason is that I'm still wrecked over what happened and I just want more children, but I'm scared."

Ginny nods her head in response and I feel like she already knew the answer, "well you two have been back in action for almost two months now right?"

I nod and grin a little sheepishly, "Yeah, I guess it has been that long."

"Well why don't you two start trying again? You're in your early thirties Hermione, that's young enough to be able to have more kids if you really want to, and if you start soon then there won't even be that much of an age difference for Rose and Hugo."

I nod; it's actually kind of nice to hear from another woman near my age that having more kids could easily be a real possibility. "Yeah I know, but," I pause, "as much as I want more kids, Ginny I'm terrified." I can see confusion in her eyes and I sit down and look at the table in front of me before continuing, "what if the same thing happens again? I can't do that again Gin, I won't survive it again."

I'm not looking at Ginny anymore, but I can feel her understanding as she comes over and sits next to me at the table.

"Hermione I need you to look at me for a second," I slowly comply and when I do I notice tears in her eyes and she speaks in a soft tone that she rarely uses, "Hermione, you are my best friend in the entire world and the closest thing I have to a sister. Ron is my favourite brother and I couldn't love the two of you more, and what happened to you two is the worst nightmare for any parent. I can't imagine what you went through, or what you're still going through, but the chances of that ever happening again are incredibly slim, and the Hermione Granger I know wouldn't ever let anything like the possibility of failure or fear hold her back from something she really wanted. Would she?"

As I process her words I notice that the tears are no longer in my eyes, and I know that she's right, but I've changed. "Gin I'm not as strong as I used to be, I can't tell you how much this broke me," I say it quietly, like a little kid ashamed of doing something bad.

"Hermione, we have watched you for the past two years. We have seen you be a shell of your former self and turn into someone none of us recognized. We have seen the best and the worst of you and let me tell you right now that you are still as strong as the day I met you because you have put this behind you, or at least you're trying to. Not a lot of people could go through what you went through and be okay like you are today. You're not perfect, and you might never be, I mean how could you be? Losing a child changes a person, but I'm telling you that you have not changed so much that you aren't the same hard headed, brilliant, and strong, woman you've always been." Ginny was in tears now, and she had definitely brought mine back out.

I look up at Ginny and give her a brief smile and then stand and give her a hug. We hold each other as sisters while we both cry for the pain we've endured and I whisper softly in her ear, "Thanks Gin, you're the best sister I could've ever asked for."

A soft tap on the kitchen door breaks us apart and we realize that in all likeliness Harry and Ron had heard that entire conversation. Our guesses are confirmed when after we say come in, Harry comes and hugs us both with obvious tears in his eyes and Ron stands back a little bit wiping his eyes. I approach him and bury my head in his chest and he wraps his arms around me, making me feel safe and loved.

Once I finally pull away, I realize that this topic really did need to be acknowledged, with honesty. "Gin, Harry, I know I haven't been an easy person lately," I chuckle a bit when Ron adds "or ever," under his breath jokingly, "but thank you both for being there for us, it really has meant a lot. We couldn't have asked for better friends." Ron nods and wraps his arm around me and I can tell that Harry and Ginny are happy that we value them so highly.

"Okay, enough of this sadness, why don't we all go into the living room and tell the kids the story of when Ron threw up slugs?" We all laugh at Harry's comment, and decide to follow him into the living room where we find Hugo and Lily both asleep, clearly tuckered out from the sugar rush they'd been on for the hours previous. James and Al looked up to something and sat down immediately after we walked in which made us thankful we went in when we did. Rose still had her nose in a book but took it out when she noticed all of us come in and put it down.

"Mum what are we doing now?" she asked curiously.

I smile and look at Ginny who answers quickly, "we were thinking we'd put a movie on for you kids for awhile. Anything in particular you'd like to watch?" The kids quickly agreed on a movie and once they were settled the four of us retreated back to the other sitting room where we continued drinking wine and catching up on recent and past events.

"Okay, truth time guys," Harry pauses, "what really happened down in the Chamber of Secrets?"

Ron and I share a grin, "uhmm, I don't know what you mean Harry. We got the basilisk fangs and came right back. Why?" I hope I lied well.

"Well you two were missing a long time, then when you came back you made big with the grand gestures and seemed to forget there was a war going on."

Ron and I laugh, and then he responds, "Alright fine, when we were flying out of the chamber I told her I loved her, but she didn't get a chance to respond until the infamous save the house elves incident."

Harry and Ginny nod in understanding, and I decide to turn the tables a bit, "Alright, your turn, during George's wedding, what were you two really doing when you were missing for an hour?"

Ginny looked at Harry and smiled and then, with seemingly no difficulty, replied, "I believe we were conceiving James in the broom shed at the Burrow."

We all break out into laughter, Ron laughing but with a face of disgust, "I guess we all suck at being stealthy."

We chuckle a little harder and continue to catch up until Ron notices the time and we decide that it's time to get home. We hug everyone goodbye and head back to our house and I feel truly thankful that we went over there tonight.

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	8. Chapter 8

hey everyone thanks for the reviews, please keep em coming... here's another installment, i hope you all enjoy it!

disclaimer: i own nothing

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I guess I should've seen this coming

I guess I should've seen this coming. Today is Hugo's fifth birthday and the only thing I can concentrate on is the feeling in my gut, or uterus, that I'm pregnant again. It's only been four months since Ron and I started sleeping together again, and only two months since the discussion with Ginny that made me feel better about the prospect of being pregnant again, but I can tell that I am. After going through the pregnancy thing three times I can feel the signs well.

I thought I would be happy but the only emotions that are screaming at the forefront of my mind are absolute fear and paranoia. I haven't told anyone yet, hell, I still need to confirm it for myself, but as I said before, I should've seen this coming. Ron and I have been having sex everyday, sometimes multiple times a day for four months now so I guess this was inevitable. I can hear him coming in the room from the bathroom as I lay in bed. We're awake earlier than usual so we can set up for Hugo's birthday but I'm having some issues getting up.

The entire family is coming over today, except I think Percy and his lot, and my parents will be coming as well. I think I'll talk to Molly and my mum and Ginny about this today. They'll know how to make me relax- and Molly can do the pregnancy charm to see if I am for real, I can't bring myself to do it, and I don't want to do it alone. I am happy, but fear is a powerful thing and right now it seems to be an easier emotion to cling to rather than all the others that are rushing through my mind and body. Ron opens the door and walks over to where I'm lying in bed and sits down next to me. I lock eyes with him as he runs his fingers through my hair.

"Baby we got to get up so we can get ready for Hugo's big day," he says gently as though he doesn't want to wake me up even though I'm so obviously awake.

"I know Ron," I glance at the clock and notice that it's too early for the kids to be up and kiss him lightly on the lips. God I love how attentive he is, it just makes me want him so badly when he treats me so gently. "Let's go shower," I say quickly and he grins in response. I'm surprised when he picks me up quickly and carries me to the bathroom.

I giggle as we get dressed, a solid half an hour later, and rush to get everything ready for Hugo's birthday- at times like these I can't help but love that we both have wands. An hour later everything is set up and it's 10am. The family is coming around 1130 or 12 and the kids are just getting out of bed. We wish Hugo a happy birthday and make his favourite breakfast which I find myself eating a lot more of than I normally would have. I'd better be careful with cake today or Ron will know right away about this pregnancy.

By 1130 the kids are fed and bathed and dressed and entertaining themselves in the living room while Ron and I drink tea and make birthday cake in the kitchen. We hear the floo network active in our living room and the joyful voice of young James Potter who is soon accompanied by his parents and younger siblings. Ron and I head to the living room and greet the Potter family and two pops tell us that someone has apparated in and we find Molly and Arthur standing behind us putting Hugo's present on the coffee table. Another few floos later and the entire Weasley clan, minus Percy's lot have arrived. My parents floo in as well so we start the birthday celebrations with a family game of Quidditch, even allowing the children to ride on their own brooms or with their parents.

Bill, Fleur, Charlie, George, Angelina, Harry, Ron, and Ginny were all up in the air with kids on their brooms or flying very near to them while I stood with my parents, Molly and Arthur, watching them play. After a few minutes of watching Ron with Hugo on his broom and the delight spread all over their faces, I can feel my emotions rising and decide to go inside to the kitchen to sit for a few minutes; almost the second I sat down at the table my mum walked in with Molly, both looking concerned.

"Hermione dear are you alright?" Molly asked cautiously.

I smile and look up at her, "Well, yes, I'm fine actually, just a bit emotional that's all."

"I remember when I was pregnant with you I was emotional all the time," my mum replies, and after a few seconds her eyes light up, "are you?!"

The grin shared on the faces of my mum and Molly is enough to make me have a hundred more kids, "I think so, but I didn't want to do the charm alone. Molly could you?"

She reacts right away and the next thing I know her wand is against my stomach and a blue mist is coming off of it- yup, definitely knocked up.

The squeal of delight coming from Molly gives my mum the answer and they both look at me happily, "Honey you're happy about this right?"

I must've looked shocked, "yeah, of course I am, but I haven't told anyone else yet because my guess is that I'm only a couple weeks along which means you two have to keep your mouths shut. Think you can manage?" They both smile and hug me, "Oh honey you're giving us more grandchildren, we'll do whatever you want!" After the mother's promise, we all head back outside to continue watching the game and when the game is finally over and Ron flies back to the ground with Hugo and after he helps Hugo off the broom, I can't help but lay a long passionate kiss on him. He doesn't know why- neither does our audience, except for a select few- but he returns it whole heartedly until an "ew" is heard from Hugo. We break apart, laughing and I scoop him up.

The whole family enjoys a late lunch/dinner together and then after a loud rendition of 'Happy Birthday,' we all eat cake, me three pieces while no one was watching, I hope. Hugo rushed to the living room right after cake to get at his presents so we all followed him in there and were happy at his delight in his new gifts. He had gotten a new Chudley Cannons poster, and a new chess set which he let the others play with right after his party which was very nice of him indeed.

As the kids are in the living room playing the men went back outside to talk about work and Quidditch while me, my mum, Molly and Ginny went into the kitchen to start cleaning up. Angelina and Fleur joined their husbands outside, they are much to like guests in my house to help with clean up.

While standing in the kitchen there is a bit of tension in the air and I can tell that my mum and Molly are trying really hard not to say anything about my newly discovered bun with Ginny in the room. I smile and decide to break the ice, knowing that I'm going to tell Ginny anyways, "Hey Ginny," she looks up at me and silently asks me to continue with her eyes, "I was thinking I'd like you to be godmother again."

Wow did that ever get her attention, she bounded over to me and looked at me very seriously, "you mean? You are?" I just nodded and then she was hugging me very hard and laughing, very happily. She realized that our mums already knew and replied, "Of course I will be, and how come you told our mums before me?"

I laugh at her lack of segue and tell her, "It was earlier today while you all were playing Quidditch, I didn't know for sure and then it all sort of came out. But you can't tell anyone yet, I need to tell Ron first and I think I'm only a couple weeks along anyways so we shouldn't be telling people yet."

"Okay I won't, but when are you going to tell him?" Ginny asked and I could feel the stares of our mothers on my back, they wanted to know too and then a voice came seemingly out of no where, "tell me what?" it was Ron.

I guess Ginny and our mums took that as their cue to leave because they filed out of the kitchen very quickly and then Ron and I were in the room alone, with the door closed.

"Tell me what Hermione?" Ron asked curiously.

I walk over to him and take his hand, then lead him over to the table and sit him down and place myself on his lap. His arms wrap around me and I whisper softly in his ear, "I'm pregnant."

I could feel the excitement radiating off of him and he grips me tighter as I pull my head away and I can see tears in his eyes, "oh baby, that's amazing." He kisses me softly and after a few minutes I adjust my body so that I'm straddling him and only after I hear a knock at the door do I realize we're in our kitchen during our sons birthday party very easily hitting second base. I laugh and move so that I'm no longer straddling Ron and say come in. Harry and Ginny walk in, and I can tell she's already told him.

"Gin I told you not to tell anyone!" I say jokingly. She smiles and replies, "Sorry I had to tell the godfather, he's just as happy for you two as I am."

Once I get off of Ron's lap Harry gives me a quick kiss on the cheek in congratulations and surprisingly does the same thing to Ron. "I'm sorry guys, I'm just so happy."

His grin says it all and after a few more minutes of talking about how they aren't to tell anyone else until I'm further along we all head back into the living room and find the party in full swing. No one else notices, I don't think, how happy Ron and I are, or if they do I think they're just assuming it's more to do with our son's birthday, which of course I am very happy about. Hugo is such a great little boy. He's so happy and smart; he's actually a lot like I would've pictured Ron when he was growing up.

The party slows down after a few more hours and Bill and Fleur are the first to leave with Louis and the rest of the family soon follow suit aside from Molly, Arthur, my parents, Harry and Ginny. I figure we should let our dads in on the pregnancy, considering how badly their wives are going to want to talk about it, but I also know that if we tell the kids that everyone on the planet will know soon, so I motion towards the kitchen and all the adults follow us in there.

Ron nods at me, looking for approval which I give and he takes my hand in his and tells his father and mine the news, "Well, for those of you in the room that don't know yet, Hermione is pregnant." The eruption of happiness from the ladies in the room, despite the fact that they already knew, is a tad shocking and our fathers take a few minutes to recover their hearing before congratulating us both soundly.

"Okay now we're not telling anyone else until I'm further along, so for now just keep this to yourselves please," I add, "Actually I need to find out how far along I am anyways."

"We'll go to the doctor tomorrow," Ron says and I nod and he gives me a light kiss on the cheek and I notice the entire family watching us with silly grins on their faces.

"Okay enough of this silly lovey dovey stuff, it's late and our kids are going to be up all night at this rate," we laugh at Ron's comment and head back to the living room where we say goodnight to all and once we're alone we put the kids to bed and head back to our room.

After yet another, more private celebration, I find myself lying on Ron's chest and I kiss it lightly before I hear him whisper, "is this really happening Mi?"

I smile and climb up his body to look him in the eye, "Absolutely it is." I kiss him again and fall asleep in the bliss of our happy news, thankful that the fear that had been trying to consume me had been beaten back for another day.

The next morning we get up early and drop the kids off at Harry and Ginny's who agreed to watch them while Ron and I head to St. Mungo's to see a Healer about the status of our pregnancy. Their giddiness is still apparent when we drop Rose and Hugo off and I can tell that they're going to be pumping us for all the information the second we get back.

Ron and I walk through the doors of St. Mungo's and go up to the desk to ask to see a healer, then sit down in the waiting room until someone is available. Fortunately it doesn't take long and before I know it I'm back in a hospital gown and sitting with Ron in the examination room. Ron is sitting next to me with his arm around me when the Healer walks in and smiles at us, "Hello you two," Healer Parker has just walked in, the woman who has been with us through each pregnancy. "Hi Healer Parker," we reply. "Okay so I believe you two are here because you did a pregnancy test and got positive results?"

We nod, and I add, "Yes we did it yesterday, but I've been feeling like I might be pregnant for a couple of weeks and I missed my last period." Ron always gets uncomfortable with period talk, but this time it seems to go past him completely unnoticed.

Healer Parker nods and asks some more questions about things like my diet, which gets a response from Ron somewhere along the lines of, "she's been eating like me," I laugh because I didn't think he'd noticed. Then she asks me to pull up the gown to expose my stomach which I do and then her wand is on pressed against my skin.

"It's probably too early to be able to tell you the sex of the baby, but I'm sure I can tell you how far along you are." We nod excitedly when a screen appears in the air above my stomach out of no where and we smile when we see movement inside my uterus; very similar to a muggle ultrasound but only a wand is needed.

"It appears that you are about seven weeks along," she smiles as the screen fades. Ron and I smile at each other and he kisses my forehead gently, "Thank you so much," Ron says to Healer Parker and she moves to sit down so she can write something in our folder. Wow, that's a lot farther than I thought. It's strange that we conceived a child a week after my conversation with Ginny, as though my body somehow allowed it to happen.

"Hermione because of your previous complications with pregnancy I'm going to recommend that you two come back here a bit more often than most people," she pauses and looks up from what she's writing so I nod, affirming that I understand. "If you're almost two months now, I wouldn't start telling people until at least after the third month so that you're into your second trimester, just in case." I must've looked alarmed because she quickly added, "don't worry, there's no cause for panic, this seems like a perfectly healthy pregnancy." I let out the breath that I didn't know I'd been holding, and she continues, "So I would like your next appointment to be during your 18th week, so you'll be about four and a half months pregnant. How does that sound?"

I agree right away, as done Ron and after we get the potential due date; which is in January, we leave to go pick up our kids and share the news with Harry and Ginny. As expected, they were ecstatic and would hardly let us leave hours after we got there. Eventually it got late in the day so our little family packed up and headed home to spend the rest of the day watching movies, reading, and playing with our kids.


	9. Chapter 9

okay here's another chapter...please read and review... disclaimer: i dont own anything

ENJOY!

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If possible, since we found out about the baby, Ron and I have been even better

If possible, since we found out about the baby, Ron and I have been even better. We've been spending even more time with the family and now that I'm entering my fourth month of pregnancy we feel comfortable enough sharing our bit of news with the rest of the Weasley's. It's becoming much more obvious anyways, I'm getting dressed right now for our weekly Burrow visit and I notice that my pants are much tighter than usual. I remember during my previous pregnancies that towards my fifth month and by my sixth were when I gained most of the weight from each baby. I smile at the early signs of our baby and when I go to the living room to floo to the Burrow, I give Ron a wink and pat my stomach and he smiles at me.

Upon our arrival, the kids rush off to find their cousins which leaves Ron and me in the living room alone for a few moments. Suddenly a wave of nervousness comes over me, which Ron picks up on. "You okay baby?" He asks me as he puts his arm around me.

I allow myself to sink into his arms and reply, "I'm alright, just a little nervous I guess. What if everyone just starts thinking about last time?" I shudder at the thought of the family's potential reactions, and rather abruptly I start thinking of Lizzy. I've been thinking about her a lot lately and in some strange way I feel like this pregnancy is actually helping me get over what happened, except for the random hormonal outbursts of course.

"Mione, everyone is going to be happy and supportive, they won't be thinking about Lizzy," Ron says softly in my ear.

I turn and give Ron a deep kiss and when I pull away I leave my arms wrapped around his neck and gaze up at him until I hear a throat being cleared behind us. We turn to see Arthur standing in the entrance to the living room, "Sorry kids, Molly was just wondering where you got to."

He was clearly embarrassed about finding us in an intimate moment, but he was hiding it well, "Don't worry Dad, we're coming in right now." Arthur left and Ron smiled down at me and gave me one lasting kiss before we walked into the kitchen to join the rest of our family.

We had arrived at the Burrow a bit later than usual so we had started eating very quickly after we got there. Sitting at the dinner table with all the Weasley's, their significant others, and children, made me a bit nervous to be announcing bringing another redheaded wonder into the world but thankfully Ron sat next to me and held my hand throughout the entire meal. As we all finished I decided it was time so I nudged Ron who took it upon himself to get everyone's attention.

"Okay everyone," it went a bit quiet at Ron's voice; "Hermione and I have something we'd like to share with you." Ginny started grinning and Harry put his arm around her, clearly delighted at the prospect of being able to talk openly about the baby, and I continued, "Well, it appears that there will be another new addition to the Weasley family."

The reaction was immediate: everyone was up out of their chairs and hugging me and Ron. Hugo didn't quite understand, along with most of his younger cousins, but James and Rose did and they were happy as well. Suddenly, with a flick of Molly's wand, dinner was cleared and dessert was being served along with congratulatory glasses of champagne for everyone but me and I felt secure again that I was part of a family that would support me no matter what. I have to admit that I was a bit blown away by the reaction they all had- it was more than they had ever cared before but I guess that's because they all know what we've been through.

Sitting in the room with everyone and basking in their happiness while they all tried to claim to be the next namesake gave me a sudden rush of nausea. What must they think of me? Are they only happy because my last child died? Do they think I'm replacing her?

Suddenly I can't help but leave the room so I quietly excuse myself and try to hide my tears as I run upstairs to the bathroom, hoping no one notices my absence or at least the state I was in when I left.

It doesn't take long for me to hear a knock at the bathroom door and when I ask who is there I'm surprised to hear a masculine voice ring out, "Hermione, its Bill." Bill? That's weird enough in itself- he isn't especially loquacious when it comes to situations like this, so I let him in and he closes the door.

"Hermione I know you're upset, but I don't know why. I figured it might help to talk to someone who isn't a stranger, but that you don't know that well, after all, there are some things you can only tell a stranger," Bill says this calmly and quietly as he sits down on the floor next to me.

The tears in my eyes are back and I take a deep breath, "Bill I'm sorry, I know I should be downstairs celebrating with everyone else, and it's not that I don't want to but sometimes I can't help getting these rushes of madness and believe me the pregnancy hormones aren't helping."

"Hermione, don't for one second think that we have forgotten about our niece," Bill says this quietly and I look up to catch his eye. "When you announced that you were pregnant down there, we weren't thinking that you were replacing Lizzy, we were thinking you were adding to the three children you already have. Losing her was a tragedy and the ability to move on like you have isn't easy, but that's who you are and that's who my little brother is. You two are strong, stronger than most people would've guessed before the war, but it is a strength that isn't questioned anymore."

Bill is always so calm and even as he speaks these words his tone is the same as usual, perhaps a tad more passionate, but I can tell what he's saying is something he believes in and I'm truly touched. "Thank you Bill," I pause and add quietly, "I really miss her."

Bill simply put his hand on mine and replied, "I know."

After a few more minutes of regaining my composure and I stood up and looked at Bill, "Okay how do I look?"

He smiled, "You look great."

"Oh no, everyone is going to assume I've been up here crying and then they're going to ask questions," damn me and my inability to hold in my emotions, but I am surprised when Bill has a grin on his face.

"I figured you didn't want anyone to know so I said I was running up to my old bedroom to look for something, everyone's downstairs still and my guess is that Ron will be up here soon to check on you but we can avoid that if we get down there right now. Just don't tell anyone we talked and then we won't have a problem," I smile at his thought, he might be almost ten years older than me, but we still had a lot in common, it's funny though because he's a lot like Ron and he's a lot like me; kind of a blend of us both.

"Thanks Bill," I smile and he lets me go downstairs first where I go back to the kitchen and sit down next to Ron who instantly leans over and gives me a kiss just next to my ear, on my jaw line. I smile when he whispers in my ear, "Everything okay baby?"

I nod at him and take his hand in mine and we continue the Weasley family celebrations which last considerably later than usual so when we get home instead of explaining to the kids about having a new sibling we just put them to bed and decide to do it in the morning.

The next morning Hugo is the first up and I become aware of this when I feel him jump on the end of our bed and crawl up and collapse on top of Ron and me. I was sleeping peacefully in my usual spot across Ron's chest and couldn't help but thank god I'd put a t-shirt on after we'd made love the night before when I woke up to my son basically bouncing on top of Ron trying to wake him up. Ron was trying to ignore him and continue sleeping, but he'd definitely woken me up and once I rolled over and watched from my pillow as Hugo tried to wake Ron up, I was surprised when Ron's eyes shot open and grabbed Hugo, tickling him as punishment for disturbing our rest.

Hugo's giggles made me smile and once Ron stopped tickling him and started lifting him into the air above us and spinning him around he finally asked to be put down. Once he'd calmed down and Ron had given me a kiss good morning, Hugo asked, "so what does this mean if we're getting another Weasley?"

Ron and I smile at each other and he decides to take the reigns on this particular conversation, "Well buddy it means that in about five or six months you're going to have a little brother or sister."

Hugo looks a bit confused, "but didn't I already have one before?"

I'm a bit startled at his question, but I decide it's important for us to answer it honestly, "yes honey, you did, but see little Lizzy was born sick and we lost her," I can feel the tears in my eyes.

Hugo seems to understand that this is an upsetting topic and before I know it he is in my arms hugging me, "I'm sorry mummy, don't worry though, I won't let anything happen to my new little brother or sister. I'll protect them." I smile through my tears at my son's chivalry and Ron wraps us both in a hug. Rose comes in a few minutes later and joins us on the bed.

"Is this about you being pregnant mum?" she asks right away.

I smile, "Yes Rose."

She looks around the room for a second and then says quietly, "I'm happy for us mum." That's enough to send me into tears and so we spent at least another twenty minutes just laughing and playing with our kids in our room before we all finally went out to the kitchen to make breakfast.

The months of my pregnancy seem to fly by and before I know it it's my 34th birthday. All of the doctor's appointments have gone well, and we are expecting a little mystery baby in late December, early January. Rose turned nine in June, a month after Hugo's fifth birthday, and suddenly with this pregnancy I feel a lot older than I thought I would at 34. Ron and I decided not to find out the sex of the baby so for my birthday present Harry and Ron are painting the nursery a pale yellow colour that would work for either gender.

I'm sitting in my kitchen at the table, while Harry and Ron are in the nursery and Ginny is making my birthday cake. All the kids have been running around all day, but Ron promised to keep an eye on them so I'm trying to not let myself worry about them too much. I can't do much anyways considering that I'm definitely becoming the size of an elephant at a rapid rate, a fact that Ginny is having a great time with.

"Oh come on Hermione," she smiles, "it is kind of funny. You never got this big with the other ones and I totally got huge with Lily, it's only fair that I get to take the piss out of you this time."

I smile and shake my head as she declares the cake finished. It's only four in the afternoon and I'm exhausted which makes me very thankful that we decided to only have a small birthday for me this year. Bill might drop by for cake later, he's been very helpful and supportive throughout the entire pregnancy ever since he found me upset in the bathroom and Ron and I have appreciated it greatly. Ron always looked up to Bill and Charlie a lot while we were growing up but I never really realized why until I became closer to his family during our marriage. They were really amazing brothers to have.

Ginny sits down at the table next to me and asks me, "Okay what are you thinking about?"

I smile, "I was actually just thinking about how wonderful it is to be a part of your family. I'm so lucky I got so many fantastic siblings out of this whole marriage thing," I reply well naturedly.

"Yeah too bad you had to have Ron too," Ginny jokes and we both laugh.

"Nah, you and I both know that I'm the lucky one here. Ron is basically the best person I've ever known, getting to marry him and have a life with him is a dream… even if he pisses me off sometimes," I reply and we chuckle again.

The boys wander into the kitchen and grab a few drinks out of the fridge before sitting down at the table with us, "All finished," Ron says to me, "Happy Birthday." I smile as he gives me a quick kiss and takes my hand in his.

Two hours later we're all finished dinner and I'm sitting with the kids at the table while Ron, Harry and Ginny get my birthday cake ready. I hear a pop in the kitchen and know that Bill must've dropped by like he said he was going too, and my thought was confirmed when I saw a tall red haired Weasley walking out of the kitchen with the others, singing happy birthday as loud as they could and encouraging the kids to scream.

I smile as I look at the cake in front of me and consider what to wish for. The thought comes quickly and I wish in my head for more happy, healthy children and blow out my candles. Once the cake is cut up and everyone is feasting on the masterpiece that Ginny created, Harry brings up the subject of baby names.

"Okay so what are we going to call this little guy or gal, have you two talked about it at all?" Harry looks like he's waiting for confirmation that there will be a Harry Weasley in the works. I smile at Ron who takes the reigns.

"Actually we have talked a bit about it but we haven't gotten too far," he looks at me and I nod, giving him my okay to talk about Lizzy, "I think if it's a girl we'd have her middle name be Elizabeth after her big sister."

A sad smile is shared around the table, and I add, "Yeah… there will never be another Lizzy, but we would like to honour her memory somehow."

It's Bill who speaks first, "That sounds like a great idea," he says, and adds after a few more minutes, "And what if we have another Weasley man on our hands?"

Ron and I have already agreed on our favourite boy name, but we'd never give that detail yet just in case it's not a boy. "We really haven't thought about boys names to be honest."

Ginny's face lights up, "Does that mean it's a girl and you're just not telling anyone?"

I laugh at her enthusiasm, "No Gin, if we were having a girl you'd know about it. We just haven't really discussed names thoroughly yet."

Ron winks at me and the conversation slowly turns to Quidditch so Ginny and I clear the plates and wander into the living room to find all the kids sitting around a chess match between Hugo and Lily.

"What is going on here?" I smile at the kids as I lean back to sit down with them and Ginny helps me to sit then joins me.

Rose looks up shrewdly and answers our question, "We're having a chess tournament. Hugo always beats everyone but this time Lily and Hugo both beat the same amount of people so we're having a chess showdown. I think Hugo's going to win though, no one can beat my little brother, not if Dad taught him." She looks so proud of her brother and Dad when she says this that I can feel tears coming to my eyes, damn hormones.

Ginny laughs, "I don't know, I bet Lily can give him a run for his money."

Hugo and Lily were both sort of quiet compared to a lot of their cousins, and so they didn't respond but instead concentrated on their game. Ginny and I watched with our kids until Ron and Harry came into the living room and Ginny moved to the left so that Ron could sit next to me. All of us sitting together in the same room with our kids made me smile even more; they are all at such great ages.

James is ten, Rose and Albus both just turned nine, Hugo just turned five a few months ago and it won't be long before Lily is six. It's too bad Lizzy couldn't have been here, she'd be about two and a half now; her birthday was in February. I would feel bad for our next child, just because his or her closest siblings or cousins will be a few years older but with the rate of Weasley reproduction there are plenty of cousins to play with.

It feels good to be able to talk about Lizzy and think about her again. It makes me ache that I don't have my third child with me everyday but it's now become an ache that I accept, not one that I run away from. I'm glad that at 34 years old I've finally figured out that I can't control everything… well not quite everything.


	10. Chapter 10

Hey Everyone, thank you for all the positive reviews... good news is, i broke my foot last night so i'll be sitting in front of my computer for a while:P this means lots more story!! I hope you all enjoy this chapter, it was basically my favourite to write... please read and review!!

disclaimer: i own nothing

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The worst part of any pregnancy is when you're too damn pregnant to work anymore

The worst part of any pregnancy is when you're too damn pregnant to work anymore. I always stick it out as long as I can, but my due date is in a week and I could technically have the baby anytime so I guess it's time to stop. I pack up my desk one last time, fairly early on a Thursday afternoon and I do feel sort of sad that I won't be able to work for at least four months after the baby is born. It will be nice to spend some time with the kids though; I think until the baby's born I'll keep Rose and Hugo at home during the day instead of at the Burrow while Ron's at work.

I smile when I open my office door and find a bunch of baby presents on my secretary's desk- people had been stopping by all week to wish us good luck. I stop briefly at her desk to inform her that I'm going over into the Auror office for a few minutes and then I waddle across the room. When I enter the Auror office Ron comes out of his office right away and looks a bit concerned.

"Mione you really shouldn't be wandering around right now," he says gently, but that just infuriates me.

"Ron just because I'm the size of Dudley Dursley does not mean that I can't walk across the room to see my husband."

"I'm sad that Dudley wasn't around to hear that comparison," I hear a voice from behind me sound and know that Harry is hardly containing his laughter.

Ron's laughing too and finally my face breaks and I join in as well.

"Sorry Harry, I shouldn't have said that about your cousin," I say after a few minutes to which Harry responds, "Actually I thought you were being harsh on yourself, being compared to Dudley is a fate I wish on no one."

We smile until Ron puts his arm around me and tells me, "Okay Mi, it's time for you to go home and relax. Don't worry about any of the baby presents or your stuff, I'll grab all of it and I'll get Harry to help me before I leave today. Right Harry?"

"Of course, I am totally at your disposal," Harry's smiling because he knows that I hate being told to 'relax.' When have I ever relaxed? I take a deep breath and know that Ron is right, I don't want anything to go wrong with this pregnancy so relaxing would be a good thing.

"Alright I'll go home, but not because you told me to," I smile and give Ron a look that says 'kiss me' which he responds too fully until Harry makes a sound that could have been an 'ick.' We chuckle as we break apart and as I head up to the Atrium to the floo network (it's too risky to apparate at this stage in a pregnancy), I get best wishes from everyone I run into. It's strange to receive such wishes from strangers but Harry, Ron and I are still fairly famous from the triumphs we had as mere teenagers.

I arrive home and hate the quiet immediately. It's not too late in the day, maybe I could head over to the Burrow for a while and hangout with Molly and the kids. I write Ron a quick note telling him where I am and floo over to the Burrow where the quiet is actually quite disturbing.

When I look outside I see the sun high in the sky and know that all the kids are probably outside playing in the backyard and head out that way. When I get out there I find Molly, Rose and Lily sitting on a bench and the other kids running around the yard clearly playing some form of tag.

"Hello all," I say as I walk up behind them and before I can sit down I'm immediately almost pulled down next to Rose who is very happy to see me. I smile and kiss her forehead then turn my attention to Lily who is less shy with me than a lot of her aunts, but still very shy indeed. She reminds me of when Harry first came to school and didn't really know himself very well.

"Hi Auntie Hermione," she giggles and I give her a quick smile and notice her hair is falling out, "Hey Lils, do you want me to fix your hair?" She nods with a small grin on her face and after I quickly fix her hair and give her a quick kiss on the forehead hello, I hear Molly speak up.

"So they finally convinced you to go home?" she's smiling and I laugh a bit and nod. "Well it's about time," I smile and don't reply but instead feel a tiny hand on my stomach and look to see Rose cautiously touching the large bump protruding from my body.

"Mummie this is where our new brother or sister is right?" This question gets Lily's attention too and now they're both rather curiously investigating the bump.

"Yes, and in a few days or weeks we're going to meet him or her," I reply to the girls whose faces light up at the prospect of a new person in the mix.

"But how did it get there?" Lily asks timidly, and my breath catches in my throat as Molly grabs my eyes. We don't even get a chance to respond before Rose takes over.

"Well Lily, a mum and dad work together to create a new life and then they put it into the mum's stomach for a while until it's cooked and then it comes out fresh," I can hardly control my laughter at her explanation, but I decide to leave it and the look on Molly's face tells me that she's not touching that topic either. The girls soon get tired of playing with my stomach and go to run around with the others, leaving Molly and I to chat.

"Any idea where she got that explanation from?" Molly asked me, clearly amused.

"I honestly have no idea, probably a book she read," I chuckle, I remember when I was about her age I had figured out sex and babies from books I had read. We chat for another hour or so when Harry and Ron arrive and join us in the backyard.

"Couldn't handle the peace and quiet at home?" Ron says as he kisses me on the cheek in greeting.

"Yeah, you know me and relaxing aren't exactly best friends," I reply.

"You really don't have to tell us that Hermione, we went to school with you," Harry shoots back and runs towards the kids before I get a chance to kick him in the shin.

Ron and I chuckle together before he assures me that all of my work stuff and our baby presents from work are at home safely and that my office door has been changed to his handprint for the next few months so that he can get in there for me or for the Auror department. I agree with this set up because I know that there's no one else I'd trust with some of the information in my office files, aside from Harry of course.

We, or more Ron, finds our kids and we leave the Burrow a bit earlier than usual because I'm exhausted and I'm pretty sure Ron can tell how exhausted I am. Once home, Ron makes a quick dinner while the kids play in the living room and I find myself in the nursery, staring at the walls and picking up a teddy bear, or dragon, from the crib in the middle of the room.

I can't believe how fast this pregnancy has gone by. It feels like it was just yesterday that I was terrified about the prospect of being pregnant again and yet, it's been almost a year since those feelings of hate and disgust were associated with me. I smile when I notice that Ron put up pictures of the family on one of the walls and before I know it there are tears running down my cheeks.

This baby is going to be so loved, and we are so lucky that we get to add to our family, I just hope that- no… I can't start thinking about that now… although last time everything seemed fine until labour, right? Everything was fine and I was so happy and so excited and then my baby died during labour. I carried a child full term only to have it suffocate inside my body right at the end and then I had to keep pushing to finish birthing a completely dead baby. No hope for survival, just death and pain came.

Instead of coming home from the hospital as a plus one baby, we came home empty handed, guilt ridden, and torn apart. What if that happens again? What if he dies too? I say he because I'm fairly certain it's a boy, but what if I lose him too?

My strangled cries must've become louder than I intended because I see the door to the nursery open and I can feel Ron's arms around me and his soft whispers in my ear.

"Ron what if it happens again, we were so happy last time, so close to having it all and it happened… what if the same thing happens? Oh my gosh why did we think we could do this?" The walls are breaking now and I can feel myself reverting back into a shell.

"Hermione it's not going to happen again. We are going to have a healthy child and he or she is going to come home with us from the hospital just like Rose and Hugo did. It will be okay," he says this softly as he strokes my bump from behind and I know that rationally he's right, it's just so hard to believe. I turn in his arms and cry into his body as his arms wrap around me.

"I'm so sorry Ron, I'm just so scared," I say quietly into his shoulder as my sobs start to dry up.

He doesn't say anything, instead he just stands with me and supports me and before I know it my exhaustion is taking over and he is picking me up.

"Mione I'm just going to put you in bed for a few hours, I'll feed the kids and stuff, you should sleep," he says quietly as he carries me down the hallway to our bedroom and I'm asleep before I hit the mattress.

I wake up and everything is dark, but I feel an arm wrapped around me and glance at the clock to find that it's 4am. I must've been really tired- I slept for almost 10 hours. I roll over and look at Ron's face and I can tell he had been crying before he went to sleep. I can't believe how much I hurt him and how much he just keeps giving himself to me. I must be the worst wife ever. I give him a gentle kiss on the lips and go back to sleep in his arms.

OW, is the first thought that comes to my mind as I struggle to shake myself out of sleep and address the pain in my stomach. It subsides for a second and I look at the table next to me bed to find that a note from Ron saying he thought it would be best to let me sleep, so the kids are at the Burrow and he's at the Ministry. The pain is gone for now, but I know that it's going to come back. That had to have been a contraction. I get up as quickly as I can and go to the kitchen where I find both of our family owls and send Aphrodite to the Burrow and Apollo, the faster one, to the Ministry on an emergency mission to get Ron.

The contractions are pretty far apart right now, it's been at least 6 minutes since I got out of bed, but I know from experience that labour can go quickly or slowly and I need Ron right now. There's nothing I can do until Ron gets here, so I go to the living room and sit on the couch and just take gentle breaths, bracing myself for the inevitable pain that will come anytime.

After about four minutes I feel another contraction coming on and just as a 'pop' announces an arrival, I cringe as the pain flows through me. I feel a hand in mine and find Ron crouching down next to me, trying to help me through the torture. Once it's gone, I'm surprised to see Harry standing on the other side of me, and suddenly I'm being pulled up by both Harry and Ron.

"I am so glad to see you," I say to them both. Harry kisses my cheek and Ron kisses me full on the mouth.

"We figured we'd both apparate you so that we can get you to St. Mungo's fast and safely," Harry answers my unasked question, Ron looks a bit in shock.

He finally speaks after clearly shaking off the shock that had come upon him, "Okay Mione, you ready?" I nod and before I know it I'm standing in St. Mungo's.

"Harry can you go get Healer Parker, I'm going to stay and then we need to contact the Burrow, my mum will take care of everyone else," Ron says quickly and as Harry dashes off to find the healer, Ron summons a wheelchair and plops me down it.

"Don't worry about the Burrow, I sent an owl," I say, "my contractions are still about ten minutes apart so I think we have some time anyway."

Ron looks excited, and crouches down next to me and says very gently, "I'm so sorry that you had to go through this alone," I can feel his sorrow and know I can easily assure him. "Don't worry Ron, I woke up with a contraction this morning and you witnessed the second one, I'm really okay. But I am sorry about last night, I didn't mean to break so badly," I'm sort of ashamed of myself.

Ron just kisses my hand and looks me in the eye before saying, "Mione, baby, we're about to have another child, you have nothing to apologize for."

A few hours later my contractions are much closer together and everyone, (almost the entire Weasley clan and my parents), is shooed out of my room except Ron. I know that the baby is coming at anytime, I can feel my body adjusted for its arrival and I'm not as scared as I thought I would be.

Healer Parker checks my diaphragm one last time before telling us it's time to start pushing, so Ron braces himself next to me and kisses my forehead. What have I gotten myself into? This is going to hurt…

"Come on Mi, you can do this," Ron says to me as the Healer tells me to push.

I can feel my entire body coated in sweat and tears are coming out of my eyes as I push as hard as I can, "AHHHHHHHHHH!" I hate that noise, even more so that it comes out of me, but at this point I can hardly think straight, all I want is to get this baby out of me.

I can feel Ron's grip around my hand as I push again and I'm relieved when I hear the Healer say, "Okay the head is clear, just a couple more pushes Hermione, you're doing very well."

My head clears a bit, I can hear something screaming… after a few seconds I realize that it's my baby, and it's breathing, it's alive. The pushes after that seem like nothing and once it's totally out the Healer quickly cleans him or her with a flick of a wand and then wraps our new baby in a blanket.

"Congratulations, you have a son," I can feel Ron tremble next to me, the overwhelming feeling of having a child brought into the world is indescribable. As she hands me our new baby, he settles into my arms as Ron's arms come around me and our new child. His eyes open for the first time and scream a brilliant blue that reminds me so much of his father.

"He has your eyes Ron," I say as I tear my eyes away from our baby to look at Ron who is now in tears. He kisses me gently, and softly strokes his sons semi red coloured head.

"The name we talked about? Is that still the one we want?" I ask, and Ron nods, so we ask the nurse to bring in our kids and parents, Bill, Harry and Ginny. A few people at a time would probably be best.

I can imagine the sight they must've had when they walked in. I'm still in my bed with Ron sitting on the bed with me, and we're completely wrapped up in the little being that we're holding as treasure in our arms. Rose and Hugo immediately run up to the bed so Ron lifts each of them up to sit on the sides and we look at the expectant faces around us.

"Everyone, we would like you to meet our son," I pause at the sighs of joy heard around the room, "his name is Harry William Weasley."

There's a quiet murmur of congratulations from everyone, but Harry and Bill both come out of the crowd to the bed and meet their namesake.

"I always said that there should be a Harry Weasley," Ron smiles and says this to Harry who I can tell is inches from tears. When he approaches my bed on the opposite side of Ron, I look at Ron who nods, and say to Harry gently, "Would you like to hold your godson?"

There are tears running down Harry's cheeks as he gently takes little Harry out of my arms and as he gazes into my son's eyes, he says quietly, "look at that, a Harry with blue eyes and red hair, and no scar." We all chuckle gently as Harry hands little Harry to Bill.

After each of the grandparents and Ginny get a turn holding their new grandson or godson, they leave the room to tell the others and after the entire Weasley family has met the new addition, Ron and I are left my room alone with Rose and Hugo.

"Dad can I hold him?" Rose asks me.

"You can hold him Rose, but you have to be very careful and make sure you support his head," Ron says as he very carefully places little Harry into her arms and helps her support him.

"Don't worry Harry; I won't let anything ever happen to you. You're coming home with us," Rose says quietly and I completely break down in quiet tears. After a few more minutes of letting Hugo and Rose get acquainted with their new sibling, the nurse comes in to take Harry to the newbie room for a little while to get tested to make sure all systems are go and I fall asleep the second that Ron takes Rose and Hugo out to the others.


	11. Chapter 11

Hey guys, here's another chapter! i hope you all like this one... thank you for all the reviews they're very encouraging. Enjoy!

disclaimer: i own nothing.

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It's been almost four months since we brought little Harry home from the hospital, and our house has never been so lively

It's been almost four months since we brought little Harry home from the hospital, and our house has never been so lively. Lately Rose and Hugo have been staying home during the days while Ron has been at work and I've been watching them as I take care of little Harry. I think that Harry was incredibly honoured to have us name our child after him because ever since him and Ron have taken turns checking in on me and the kids throughout the day.

It will be a great day when Harry Weasley goes to Hogwarts, a day that I think will make Harry Potter almost as proud as it makes me and Ron. Bill was very happy as well to be a part of little Harry's name, but I assured him that it was well deserved considering how helpful he'd been throughout the entire pregnancy.

We had a full Christmas at the Burrow again this year; the nice part of going into labour early was not being pregnant at Christmas. We had missed the past one due to my depression and even though we had a new baby with us it actually ended up being a lot of fun. It's always nice to see the entire family and Teddy and Andromeda for Christmas and it was even more fun on New Years when the Weasley's threw a huge celebration and a lot of our old classmates were there which was actually strangely enjoyable.

It's now the end of March and Harry William has been with us for four months. The problem that I'm having is really that I think I might be pregnant again. I just lost most of the baby weight, mainly from running around after kids all day, and I actually think I might be pregnant again and while this isn't necessarily a bad thing, it's a bit terrifying.

I'm going back to work in a week, which is a bit fast, but I will be taking Harry with me for a while and Rose and Hugo are happy to go back to the Burrow during the weekdays. If I'm pregnant again I'll need more time away from the office, although, I have been working from home a wee bit. It almost sucks in some ways that I've hardly ever gotten morning sickness, that's usually such a good indicator for most women.

I called Ginny earlier and she'll be coming by on her lunch break to 'check on me' today, or least that's what I told Harry and Ron just to make sure that they won't come by. Ginny's actually coming over to do a pregnancy test, not that she knows it yet, so that I can put my mind to rest. I hear a pop in the next room and put Harry back into his crib (I had been burping him), and stroll out in the living room. Rose and Hugo are playing in there and talking to Ginny happily and I signal to come into the kitchen so Ginny follows me in there and I decide that beating around the bush absolutely is not necessary right now.

"Okay I think I'm pregnant again." I say and a look of shock registers on Ginny's face, which quickly turns into a look of pleasure.

"Wow, so you two really are trying to break the Weasley record," she muses and then adds, "I thought you weren't supposed to sleep together for awhile after birth."

"Well, I guess we started a bit earlier than most people, but I promise we did wait almost a month… sort of… it's just on New Years… and then I guess ever since we've sort of been a bit…" I trail off and blush a bit, the fact that Ron and I seem to have an insatiable need for each other has never been more embarrassing.

"I'm not really surprised; you two never could keep your hands off each other. How did you not get pregnant for so long between Rose and Hugo?"

"I guess we were always smart enough to remember the contraception charm… we sort of get caught up and forget a lot these days," now I'm definitely blushing, "can you please just do the charm? I don't want to do it alone."

Ginny nods, still giggling and casts the charm on my stomach which radiates blue much more than any of my previous tests.

"Okay, so we know I'm pregnant, but didn't that seem like a lot of blue to you?" I ask, surprisingly calm. I have to stay calm, there's no reason to suspect anything out of the ordinary…

"Yeah it really did," Ginny looks a bit concerned, "I'll tell you what, I'll watch Harry and the kids for a couple hours and you go to the Ministry right now and tell Ron and go to St. Mungo's."

I agree, a bit unsure of leaving Harry alone but I know Ginny can handle it; having had three kids very close together. I thank her and literally 'pop' to the ministry to find Ron.

When I finally get down to our offices, I can't resist the temptation of going to my office but just as I'm about to open the door I remember that it's been changed to Ron's hand and will burn mine if I touch it. I scowl a bit and traipse across the room and find Ron and Harry chatting in Harry's office.

"Hey guys," I say as I close the door behind me.

"Hey Hermione, what are you doing here? Is everything okay?" Ron asks quickly.

"Yeah everything's fine, Ginny's with little Harry and Rose and Hugo at home. I need to talk to you about something," I say and Harry speaks up, "Here you guys can stay in here, I'll just go and check my messages." We thank Harry and he leaves us alone in his office.

"Okay Ron, this is a bit surprising, but I'm just going to say it because I don't think I'll be able to-"

"Hermione whatever it is, it'll be okay, just tell me," Ron cuts me off and takes my hand in his.

"Ron I'm pregnant again," I say quickly and before I can add anything else my mouth is covered by his and we're totally lost in a kiss. The door opens behind us and we hear Harry say as we break apart, "So it was good news then?"

"Mione's pregnant again mate!" Ron practically yells and Harry wastes no time with kisses on the cheek for us both.

A few seconds later I add, "Ron I came down here because when Ginny did the pregnancy charm a lot more blue came off my stomach than before… it seemed a bit strange so I thought maybe if you had time we could go to St. Mungo's right now."

The smile sort of left Ron's face, but he said quickly, "Yeah of course we can go right now," he grabbed his coat off a chair and added to Harry, "I'll be back as soon as I can."

Harry nodded and looked a bit concerned himself, "No rush you two, just make sure I have a safe little godson or daughter in there. And don't worry about making dinner tonight; I'm going to write to Gin right now, we'll make dinner for all of us at your place tonight."

We thank Harry and head upstairs to the Atrium quickly and once again we're back in St. Mungo's. Ron approaches the desk and asks for a Healer again while I sit and wait sort of patiently. He sits next to me and after what seems like hours a Healer is available and we're brought into an examination room. We end up waiting in there for a long time as well before we're joined by Healer Parker.

"I'm sorry for the wait, it's been a very busy day here today," she shakes both of our hands and sits on a chair across from us. "So another home pregnancy test turned out positive?"

"Yes but it seemed like it was much more positive than before… a lot of blue came off my stomach this time, more than any other time," I spell out quickly, I really am desperate for answers after waiting all this time. Patience hasn't ever been a virtue of mine, and right now I'm feeling absolutely completely un-virtuous.

I'm a bit surprised that Healer Parker doesn't look concerned at all, and instead she just instructs me to pull up the gown and points her wand at my stomach. A few seconds after she said the incantation, an ultra sound screen pops up and she starts pointing out where the baby is.

"Okay now the reason that the pregnancy test returned so positive is that I believe you're having twins," she said casually and then pointed to two different heads in the picture.

Ron and I look at each other, "twins?" I'm totally shocked and could not have seen this coming less.

"Two babies?" Ron says, "How far along are they?"

I'm still trying to get my bearings back when she announces that they're ten weeks along. That means they were conceived only a month and a half after we had little Harry… uhmm… oops?

We both chuckle, and Ron says, "Okay so I guess these kids are going to be very close together in age."

Ron and I share a look and I kiss him soundly, "Well we did want more kid's right? And at least this is sort of a two for one," I say and he laughs. The Healer smiles at us and we schedule our next appointment. The twins are due in late October, making them just ten months younger than Harry who was born in mid December but at least still in different years at Hogwarts. By the time Ron and I leave the hospital it's almost 430 so Ron decides to run back to work quickly and I head home.

When I get there Ginny and the kids are playing exploding snap. "Hey Gin, just give me a sec to grab Harry and I'll tell you everything," I say and go down the hall to little Harry's room. I scoop him up and carry him to the kitchen where Ginny follows me in and immediately probes for all the answers.

"So what's up?" she says as I start nursing little Harry; it's a good thing we raised our kids together and don't feel weird about stuff like this.

"Twins," is all I have to say for her to squeal. After she's calmed down, she asks, "and when are these twins due?"

"October," I reply, "They're already ten weeks along."

"Oh my gosh I can't believe there's going to be another set of Weasley twins…" she trails off and I know she's thinking of her brother, Fred who we lost in the war.

"I'm so sorry Gin, I shouldn't have been all gloaty about it, I know how much we all miss Fred," I say, trying to sympathize.

Ginny is tearing up a bit at the mention of her late brother's name, but responds, "Hermione, I can't tell you how happy this would've made Fred, and how happy this is going to make George. Be careful though, if George has his way they'll be a replica of him and Fred and with your brains added to the Weasley mix it'd be a scary couple of mischief makers." We both laugh at the thought and I start burping little Harry.

"Oh by the way, Harry and Ron are going to grab James, Al and Lily from the Burrow and come over here tonight and Harry and I are going to make you and Ron dinner. A small congratulations from us to you," she says and I smile and give her a quick kiss on the cheek, "you guys are amazing Ginny."

"It's crazy to think that by the time the twins arrive, James will be at Hogwarts."

"I know, it's insane," I add, "any ideas what you're going to do for his eleventh birthday?"

"Well we have a couple months or so to plan it, but I think we're going to try and get Quidditch tickets. It should be easy, I did win the Quidditch world cup a couple times in my day," she grins and I know she's thinking about her glory days.

"Do you ever miss it?"

"Well, sometimes I guess I do, but having kids with Harry was the best thing I've ever done, even if I had to give up my pro Quidditch career to do it," she replies quickly and adds, "plus writing about Quidditch is fun too, and there's a lot of freedom that I didn't have before when I was playing all the time."

I nod and agree and excuse myself to put little Harry down while Ginny starts making dinner. By the time I get little Harry to sleep Ron and Harry are back from work and the Potter kids are playing with Rose and Hugo in the living room when I stroll through it to get to the kitchen. The second I enter the kitchen Ron wraps his arms around me and kisses me very passionately which I return whole heartedly.

"Well hello to you too Mr. Weasley," I giggle a bit uncharacteristically and he smiles in return and places one more quick kiss on my cheek. Harry is standing with Ginny by the oven but turns to say, "Ron told me its twins Mi, congratulations," he tips his glass in my direction and drinks.

I smile, and I remember that from Ginny's reaction earlier; I have to make sure I talk to Ron about Fred later, he's surely been thinking about him.

"So I was thinking that we could tell everyone this weekend at the Burrow dinner," Ron says to me, and I agree.

"I'm still going to go back to work for a couple months or so next week, I'm sure after that I won't be able to much considering how big I got last time and this time it's twins!"

A few hours later dinner is finished and we thank Harry and Ginny as they gather their kids and head home for the night. Once Rose and Hugo are in bed, Ron and I head for our room and I can hardly get him through the door fast enough.

After our love making celebration, I'm curled up in Ron's arms and I ask him very softly, "Ron does us having twins make you think about Fred?"

He shifts a little, "of course it does Mione," he says quietly, "but I know that Fred would be happy for us, that somewhere he is happy for us, and I know that George will be very happy to have twins around again… I think a part of him has been lost ever since we lost Fred. Maybe having another set of Weasley twins around will give him something to remember."

I kiss Ron softly, knowing the conversation is over, and as I feel his breathing change I know he's drifted to sleep. I wonder for a few more minutes how we're going to be able to handle twins and finally, sleep comes to me as well.


	12. Chapter 12

Alright everyone, here's another chapter. Thank you for all your reviews thus far, i hope they all continue. Enjoy this chapter, there'll be another update soon!

Cheers!

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The weekend comes quickly and before I know it it's our coming out dinner. Everyone is again gathered at the Burrow and this time we decide that since we got there early enough, we'll make the announcement before dinner. Everyone is in the backyard aside from Molly, who is in the kitchen slaving away, so I go inside and ask her to join us for a few minutes and I can tell she knows something is up. Once everyone's outside I ask for their attention and let Ron start off.

"Okay everyone Hermione and I have an announcement to make," he pauses and nods at me, signalling for me to continue, "I'm pregnant, again." But before everyone can start celebrating, Ron holds up his hand, asking for silence and adds, "With twins."

The next few minutes are basically a blur of red as everyone congratulates us; I notice that George hasn't said anything but instead let all the others congratulate us. I think they sensed his need for privacy because they all went inside afterwards. When it was just me, Ron and George standing in the backyard, he came over and gave Ron a huge hug, and kissed me gently on the cheek.

"Congratulations, this is something really special," he said to us gently and then squatted down next to my stomach and said softly, "Okay you two, you better really embrace the Weasley twin reputation. I'll teach you everything I know of course, and I know that Fred will guide you as well, but you have to remember to love each other more than anything else and stick together. Having a twin is a gift, and I never want you two to think anything else of it."

When he stood he had tears on his cheeks and wiped them away sadly, he may be in his late thirties, but George Weasley would never forget the brother he lost all those years ago. I could feel myself tear up a bit, and then George said quietly, "I just need a few minutes, you two need to get in there and celebrate."

Ron and I go to leave him to collect his thoughts for a few minutes but he quickly grabs Ron's arm, "don't worry little brother, these are happy tears. I'm going to teach those two to torment you guys really, really well."

Ron and I both chuckle and give George a nod before going inside to talk to the rest of the family. When we go inside Angelina looks at us and smiles, and then glances outside towards George.

"He still out there?" she asks.

"Yeah he said he just needed a minute," I respond and she nods. I've always wondered how much George and Angelina talk about Fred; he was her boyfriend and his twin; a huge part of both of their lives. After a few seconds of quiet reflection, I decide to shake off the sad thoughts of Fred and focus on the set of twins in my stomach. I smell dinner and hear a growl come from my belly. Unfortunately Ron heard it too and shot me a 'ha-ha' look before pulling out a chair for me and sitting down next to me.

Dropping James off at Platform 9&3/4 is surreal and strange for me; I can't imagine how Ginny and Harry must feel. Next year when Rose and Al go seems so close now it makes me cringe at the thought. Ron and I decided to join Harry and Ginny while they drop off James, we let the younger kids come too to see their older sibling and cousin off.

At least James will have some cousins there though; all of Bill's kids will be there now, Louis is just starting this year as well, and Percy's daughters are both there now, and Teddy plus Neville is teaching there now. He'll be okay. God I sound more like his mother than an aunt, but I guess seeing James go is sort of like seeing the first of all our kids grow up, its strange to think in a couple months I'll be giving birth to twins.

"Don't worry Al, we'll be there together next year," James says to his little brother. Ron and I walk away from the Potter family a few feet to give them a few minutes to say a private goodbye to their first son. I watch as Harry hugs James and ruffles his hair, then as Ginny does almost the same. As he boards the train he turns to wave goodbye and I can tell Ginny is crying, and I smile to myself as I see Harry gently place his arm around her shoulders. I feel Ron's grip on my hand tighten and once the Hogwarts Express is away from the platform and around the first corner of its journey, Harry and Ginny walk towards us and I give them both hugs.

"They grow up fast," Harry says to us as he picks up Lily and balances her on his hip, "You're never going to leave me though, right Lils? You would never do that to daddy." He smiles as he says it, and laughs out loud when he hears, "but I wanna go to Hogwarts daddy," in return. We all chuckle a bit and head back to our house.

I open the door first and rush to go to the toilet; twins seem to have a way of sitting on your bladder basically around the clock. As I wash my hands I can hear the kids starting to play in the living room and I notice that I have tears running down my cheeks a bit. It really was hard seeing the 'trio's' first born child go off to Hogwarts where he'll become a part of his own circle of friends. He'll never be a little kid again. In just one year that same thing is going to happen to my oldest girl, and then she won't be my little girl anymore, she'll be the top of her class at Hogwarts and be destined to do great things. I can't believe how old we've become.

I take my time drying off my hands and slowly make my way down the hallway back to the kitchen where I join Harry and Ginny at the table. Ron is putting some food out, probably for me, and Harry and Ginny are talking about getting sorted into houses.

"He'll be a Gryffindor, that much is obvious," Harry states with conviction.

"Well of course, but if he's not we have to make sure that no one gives him a hard time. Imagine the son of a Weasley and Potter ending up in Hufflepuff," Gin replies, giggling as she says it.

"Hey a Hufflepuff can hold their own," Ron replies, "Tonks always could anyways, but I guess she was above average in skill for a Hufflepuff."

We all go a bit quiet at the mention of Tonks, and then I ask Harry, "So Teddy is starting his sixth year now right?" Harry nods and smiles proudly.

"Now there's a good kid," Ron adds as he sits down with us and puts a plate down on the table.

"Well he had great genes, and of course a very dedicated godfather," we all smile at Harry who grabs a sandwich off the plate and doesn't comment at all.

"I guess that means we'll be having a big graduation ceremony for him soon then… and a lot of years after this," I pause, oh my gosh, so many Weasley's will be graduating AND leaving Hogwarts in the next few years, "Wow you guys do you realize that we're going to be dropping at least one new kid off at Hogwarts for the next 4 years and we're going to be seeing at least one leave for the foreseeable future?"

We all sort of take this in slowly, until Ginny speaks, "How on earth did we get so old?"

Chuckling, I go to reach some food from the plate and then the conversation moves to Quidditch so I take the opportunity to zone out and let the others discuss their favourite sport.

On the day of my 35th birthday I came home to a huge surprise party that I can only assume was orchestrated by Ron and Ginny. I haven't actually gotten a chance to ask yet, I'm still sitting on the couch surrounded by presents and people I love, completely too fat to move and not really trying very hard to do so. Molly had my favourite dinner made and Ginny and her had made my favourite cake and now we're onto presents which I assume will mostly be for the twins or books but I can always hope for something special for myself as well.

"You guys really didn't have to do all this, it's just a birthday after all," I smile, and I hope they know how happy I am that they did throw me a huge party… Ron and I have been through a lot in the past few years, and even though little Harry is getting old enough to crawl at 10 months, it really is a lot of work to be incredibly pregnant with twins AND be raising a new born.

"Oh come on Hermione, you needed a celebration in your honour, after these twins are born you're probably never going to have enough energy to remember the date ever again," we all laugh at Harry's comment and from the look of confirmation on Molly's face I can tell that he might be completely right.

I open a bunch of gifts that include cute outfits for twins of either sex, but I have to give Ginny credit when I open the package from her to find a bottle of my favourite wine- imported from Italy.

"I figured that you could drink it to celebrate New Years… in like 10 years or something," we all laugh, knowing that I'm going to be breast feeding for a long time, but I really do love the sentiment of getting something that she knows is a favourite of mine, "Ginny I want to hug you but I really can't move so come here." Chuckles are heard throughout the room and Ginny gives me a hug which I return and whisper in her ear, "We'll drink this bottle together someday sweetie."

A few presents later and I'm getting handed a package from Ron that is definitely a jewellery box of some kind. I must have looked very curious because as he saw my eyes light up he started inching towards me slowly just to give me a hard time. "Oh come on Ronald, just give me what I want," I laugh and he hands me the package.

In the other end of the room I hear a "That's why you're pregnant," from George, but I ignore him and waste no time in tearing off the wrapping and open the box to find a necklace with a diamond pendant in the middle. It's absolutely gorgeous, and when I turn it over, I find it engraved "Love" and I know there are tears running down my face because I absolutely do not have words for how amazing this necklace is. It must've cost him a fortune.

"Ron," I look up at him and he's smiling down at me, "Do you like it?" I can't really form words right now, so I reach for his shirt and tug him down and push my lips to his, not caring that we're in the audience of his entire family and my parents. I laugh as I hear George's comment behind Ron, "You two really never stop do you?" and we break apart.

Giggling still, Ron helps me put on the necklace and just as he does up the clasp I feel a shock run through my body and can feel a totally different type of tears run through my body. Something isn't right; my due date isn't for a month.

"AHHH," I wail, and suddenly everyone is at my side and Ron's right in front of me, the pain won't stop, "Ron… something's" I get cut off from pain as it rips through me like a knife, "not right." I finally finish my sentence and hardly notice the panic going on around me. Suddenly I'm being picked up in Ron's arms, and I hear him give people directions.

I'm having a hard time not screaming out in pain, I'm worried about my twins and I feel as though the world is spinning. Vaguely in the background I hear Ron's solid voice, "Harry help me apparate her to St. Mungo's, please someone watch the kids, or meet us there… HARRY HURRY WE HAVE TO GET HER THERE NOW," I hear his voice crack and then everything is dark.


	13. Chapter 13

Hey everyone here's another chapter... i hope you all enjoy it, please read and review!

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The room is blurry when I open my eyes. I feel foreign and empty in my own skin… as my sense of touch comes back to me I realize there's a hand in my own, and when I look down I see a red head resting on the bed next to me with his hand in mine. Ron.

As I take in my surroundings I realize that I'm in St. Mungo's and when I remember what happened, I panic when I see that my stomach is no longer the pregnant bulge it once was, but instead looks as though I had already given birth. What the hell happened? Where are my children? How much time has gone by?

I start to panic and Ron wakes up.

"Oh thank Merlin Hermione," he says and buries his face in my neck, kissing me and I can feel his tears on my skin as I regain control of body and breath.

"Ron what happened? Where are the twins? How long has it been since I went out?"

Ron's breathing very deeply before continuing, oh dear god know; please tell me that my babies are okay.

"Mione the twins are okay. They're in the premature baby room right now, but they're going to be okay. It's been two days since you passed out though… they did emergency surgery when we got you in here and the twins were born at about 12:04 and 12:06 the morning after your birthday," I take a deep breath of relief when I hear that my babies are okay, and I realize that I don't know them at all.

"Ron are they boys or girls?"

He smiles through his tears of joy, and says to me very quietly as he strokes my cheek, "we have two healthy twin boys. Apparently for preemies they're actually in really good health and Healer Parker thinks she must've been a little bit off of their due date or something. They're running all the normal tests and stuff though but we should be able to bring them home as soon as you can come."

"What happened to me?" I'm definitely crying now, "and where's the family?"

Ron explains to me that the stress of the contractions sent me into shock, and that I had been given a few sedatives to relax which had knocked me out for a couple days.

"Well I've been here so Harry and Ginny have stayed at our house with the kids and they've been checking in every hour or so, but your mum and dad are just outside and my mum is too… I'm going to go get them okay?" I nod and Ron opens the door to the hallway and my parents and Molly walk in and over to my bed to give me hugs.

"You had us mighty worried there Hermione," Molly says.

"Well as long as the twins are okay then I'm fine," I reply and give a small smile, "Ron have you named them yet?"

He scoffs and looks at me incredulously, "Do you honestly think I'd name our sons without you? I don't fancy getting beat up or lectured for the next 50 years."

We all welcome some much needed laughter and I say gently to Ron, "Okay well can we meet them? I'd like to hold them if I can so we can name them properly… and decide which name for which baby…"

Molly assures me she'll find a nurse to get our new born kids in the room for us and I have to admire her when she comes back with a nurse who is wheeling a baby bed containing two little boys less than ten minutes later.

"Okay mum, are you ready to meet your new sons?" she asks and I nod. She hands me baby one and Ron baby two and as he sits down next to me on the bed I marvel at the two little wonders in our arms. I see a tear drip off the end of Ron's nose and I'm not surprised when I feel the salty taste of tears on my own lips. These twins have luscious thick red hair, and the greenest eyes I'd ever seen, aside from Fred and George's… and maybe Harry's.

"Oh my gosh they look exactly like Fred and George did," I hear Molly say from next to me, and I feel Ron tremble beside me. He must've been thinking about how much they looked like Fred and George, after all, they had the green eyes and the brilliant Weasley hair.

After a few minutes of meeting our little boys I clear my throat and ask Ron, "Alright daddy, what are we going to call these little boys?"

Ron smiles at me in return and can barely take his eyes away from his sons for a second to meet mine, "How about we go with Jack Fred Weasley, and Oliver George Weasley?"

I smile, "Our little Ollie and Jack, Jack and Ollie… I like it," we smile at our sons, "okay now are you holding Ollie or Jack?"

We both laugh, and Ron replies, "Oh I'm definitely holding Jack… this kid's got the childlike wonder of Fred already… and little Ollie just looks happy to be here, just like George."

I hear Molly and my mum both burst into tears, and my dad tells us he's just going outside to call for the rest of the family while I let my mum take Ollie from my arms and Ron let's Molly take Jack from his.

"You know I named Fred and George after my brothers that were killed in the first war, Gideon and Fabian… it's nice that you are honouring George and Fred like this… they'll be very pleased," we don't correct her on her present use of Fred's name because we all know that somewhere in heaven a jokester probably just cried tears of joy over having another set of twins in the family.

Once the entire family arrives and packs themselves into our hospital room I announce the names of our new sons, "Okay everyone, the baby boy you see me holding now, is Jack Fred Weasley, and the baby boy you see Ron holding now is Oliver George Weasley." There was a small sound of awe, and George came forward right away to meet the little boys.

"Thank you guys, for remembering me and Fred like this," he says to us quietly as he plays with his nephews toes.

"George no one could forget you and Fred… besides, you have to teach them what it is to be a Weasley twin and they'll probably listen to you more if they're named after you," I think I surprised everyone with that comment… The look on Molly's face tells me I might have just asked for a very nasty fate, although I'm sure having Fred and George running around turning teddy bear's into spiders all the time probably did take a few years off her life.

On Harry William Weasley's first birthday, December 10, the twins are almost three months old and are thankfully quite quiet babies. I think sometimes they conspire to make noise though because every now and then, just when I'm getting used to not having a screaming baby around, that's when they strike. Although I have to admit that I really have been enjoying being at home with the kids a lot.

Rose and Hugo have been hanging around a bit and have been wanting to help a lot with their younger brothers, especially the twins, but I think they're a bit young so I generally let them help with little Harry much more often. Harry has already grown a lot and he has thick locks of red hair, although his red colour is much more subtle than the flame that surrounds his father. I notice now that Rose's hair is becoming much darker as well, sort of like Ginny's, but incredibly thick like mine. The twins are still flaming red heads and their eyes seem to get greener everyday.

I can't help but idly wonder what Lizzy would look like now. I remember when she was born she has been the only baby of ours that had my brown hair, destined to be bushy, and chocolate eyes. I suppose it's a good thing though because none of our other kids have ever looked the same. It makes her unique from her siblings and although for a long time this difference made her hard to think about, now it makes her easy to remember.

Rose will be eleven in June and then in September she'll be off to Hogwarts. Hugo will be seven in May and once Rose goes I'm sure I'll be thankful to all his cousins for keeping him occupied. Lizzy would be four this February, a month that is never easy. Little Harry is a year old now, something I actually find hard to believe when I think about where I was two years ago. Once the twins get to be about four months old I'll start bringing them to work and little Harry will go to the Burrow with his older siblings.

The thought makes me sad though, I really have liked spending all this extra time with Rose before she goes to Hogwarts; us girls stick together in this house. I've been in such a state of exhaustion that I haven't really had a chance to think about any larger aspects of life besides my family… I chuckle at the thought, even after all these years it's odd to think that I don't need to panic about the state of the wizarding world every five seconds.

James will be home from Hogwarts in a few weeks for Christmas break and I know his siblings and cousins not to mention Harry and Ginny are very excited. I know Harry just feels happy that his son has a place to come home too which is something he didn't have for a long time in his youth. Damn those Dursley's. Okay enough of that, it sounds like Ron is coming down the hallways where he'll find me standing in little Harry's room. I just got him to sleep after an entire day of birthday celebrations and cake.

Harry and Ginny are with all the other kids in the living room, probably playing with the twins, and I thought Ron was there too but I am corrected when I go to open the bedroom door and find him standing outside. I smile and let him take my hand as I close the door with the other.

"I can't believe how old he is already," I say quietly and Ron nods in return then replies, "they grow up fast."

I agree and give Ron a quick kiss which I feel him try to deepen. I let him until I feel him press me up against the wall and I giggle a bit as I break free.

"Ron! Our kids are still up and Harry and Ginny are in the next room!" I manage to breathe this out despite the work Ron's doing on my neck and I laugh when I hear him reply, "We can be fast."

I let his mouth take possession of mine once more and as the snog gets more heated, I know it's time to break it off. I do so with a little hesitation and Ron grumbles a bit but I manage to drag him back to the living room where Harry and Ginny each hand us a twin so we can put them to bed which we do with little difficulty. When we return to the living room we find that Harry is holding a sleeping Lily in his arms. We exchange goodnights and once our guests have left Ron puts Hugo to bed and Rose remains on the sofa, reading peacefully.

I sit down next to her and join her in reading when after a few minutes Rose closes the book and turns to me in a manner that is much too serious for her age.

"Mum what do you think Lizzy would be like now?" My breath caught in my throat, how do I even answer that? I can only imagine my other daughter; she was ripped away from life before she even had a chance. After a few seconds of thought, I take a deep breath and reply calmly, "Rose I think if your little sister was with us right now that she would be a lot like you." That's really all I feel comfortable saying, and it's probably true.

"Do you think I'll ever get another sister? I have always wanted one but all I ever get is brothers," she says this so innocently, it makes me smile and I hug her a bit closer, this is actually an easy question.

"I really don't know Rosey, only time will tell I think." This seems to satisfy her curiosity for the time being and she quietly declares she's going to bed. I give her a kiss on the cheek and I hear her run down the hallway and give Ron, who must've been heading back this way, a kiss goodnight as well. Ron re-enters the living room and I tell him what happened.

After I tell him about our oldest child's questions, I do wonder how he feels about the topic.

"So what do you think?"

"I think that maybe we should have explained to her more about her little sister," he pauses, and I silently agree, "and I think I would love to give her another sister, but that it isn't really up to me, it's not my body."

I smile at his reply, he's gotten smart after all these years of marriage and he's definitely no longer the insensitive prat he once was, usually anyways.

"So if I said that I wanted more kids you'd be okay with it?" I ask cautiously.

He nods and then I see his mouth open, as if debating something, then close, and then finally he says, "Is that what you're saying?"

I shake my head instantly and reply, "No, not right now anyway. I want to go back to work for a little while and the kids need to get a bit older before we decide to do the pregnancy thing again. We basically have triplets on our hands as it is."

Ron agrees quickly and after a few more minutes of talking we make our way to the bedroom and go to bed.

Pain lashes through my body and I feel like I'm on fire. Everything around me is blurry and I don't know what's happening at all until I hear a familiar voice saying my name softly. I realize Ron is calling me back and when my eyes come into focus I know that we're in St. Mungo's, I just don't know why.

I look down and see a Healer between my legs, waiting for something. When I hear the instruction to push I realize that I'm giving birth. I push and push, but nothing happens. I look over to Ron's face beside me but I'm confronted with an angry, disproving glare that doesn't remind me of my husband at all.

"She's dead Hermione. This is entirely your fault. You killed our daughter," the man who looks like Ron but can't possibly be Ron says to me and I feel a chill down my spine when and feel weight in my arms. I look into my lap and find that I'm now sitting on a chair and there is a blue baby in my arms, staring up at me with eyes that I know are identical to my own.

I start to panic and hyperventilate and drop the baby from my arms and when she hits the ground with a thud I scream, then feel my entire body being jostled around.

"Hermione!" I can hear panic in Ron's voice and realize I'm waking up from a dream… no, a nightmare.

I cry into Ron's arms and tell him of the dream I just had that our dead daughter was all my fault. He says nothing, but lets me cry into his chest and finally when I feel myself starting to calm down, I hear his voice ring out in the darkness, "it was your fault."

I gasp as I sit up straight in bed and see Ron sleeping peacefully next to me. It was all a dream. I'm okay, Ron's okay everything is fine. I lay back down in bed and can't stop thinking about the nightmare I just had. I haven't dreamt about losing a baby like that in a really long time. I shudder at the tone I heard in Ron's voice and lean into his body while he sleeps, hoping that the sound of his heartbeat will lull me into rest as well.


	14. Chapter 14

Hey guys i decided to update again since its 235am and i don't feel like doing my english paper. lol. i hope you all enjoy this one, it was really fun to write. please read and review!

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On June 10th, the twins are nine and a half months old and little Harry is just 19 months old. Hugo just turned six a month ago, but today is the eleventh birthday of our eldest child, Rose. For her birthday the only thing she wanted was books, so we got her a bunch of muggle books and some magical books she might need for her first year of Hogwarts, plus some extra magical books for what I call light reading and what Ron calls torture.

The entire family came over for dinner tonight and now I'm sitting in the twins room trying to put them to sleep while Ron is over in little Harry's room doing much the same.

I found out last night that I'm pregnant again. I'm telling Ron as soon as I go into our bedroom. I think he'll be okay with it though… I've been back at work for a while now and even with having so many young children it is actually not that hard to raise them all with the help of Molly and my mum, not to mention Harry and Ginny. Rose has also taken to being an older sister and absolutely adores getting to play with her younger brothers, and Hugo is starting to learn to play with them safely as well.

Little Ollie and Jack are asleep now so I sneak away to go into my bedroom and find that Ron is already lying in bed waiting for me. It was a long day for us both and we're exhausted, but I know that I need to tell Ron about the pregnancy.

"Hey baby," I say to Ron as I crawl into bed next to him. He kisses the top of my head in return and I continue, "Ron I need to tell you something." This gets his attention and he turns to face me and nods for me to continue. "Ron I think, well no, I know that I'm pregnant again."

Ron doesn't say anything at first, instead he kisses me softly on the lips and when he pulls back he says "at least this kid will be over a year apart from the twins." We both chuckle a bit and he adds, "I guess we should go to the doctor tomorrow?"

I smile, "Actually I dropped by St. Mungo's yesterday. The baby is due March 2, maybe we'll get lucky and he or she will be born that close to your birthday just like the twins on mine." We smile, but I can't help but wonder how Ron feels about this, I mean, it means that we're having our seventh child. "Ron can you believe we're having our seventh child?"

"I know," he pauses and smiles, "I always thought my parents were crazy. But we have enough money to handle it financially, and we both love kids, so I don't see the problem with it. We can keep having more if you want to." I'm a bit shocked at his ease with discussing having multiple kids in the future… after all, I'm almost 36.

"Ron I'm almost 36, and by the time I have this little one I will be 36… are you okay with having more? I feel like maybe we're too old to keep having kids," I hope he knows what I mean… my body is going to start aging a lot more soon, especially after this pregnancy.

"Hermione we can have as many kids as you want, or after this pregnancy we can stop. You're not too old, we have our entire lives ahead of us and hey, my mum had me when she was your age and Ginny after that."

I nod and we leave the conversation there, and go to sleep dreaming of possible babies to come.

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Dropping Rose off at the train station is proving to be as difficult as I was dreading it would be. Harry and Ginny are having issues dropping Al off as well, especially because it means they only have one child at home, but dropping off my eldest child and only girl is breaking my heart.

She got up early this morning and put her robes on, not wanting to wait any longer to be a student at Hogwarts. She reminds me so much of myself its ridiculous; she spent the entire summer reading all of her textbooks and organizing her trunk multiple times. I actually feel like I went back to Hogwarts this summer with how many questions she's been asking about it.

Ron got his Muggle's Driver's License over the last week. We thought that since going to the train station is going to be a regular occurrence now, plus the added fact that I seem to be getting fatter earlier with each pregnancy it would make sense to have two drivers in the family. I still think he confunded the instructor though, there's no way he passed on his own, he didn't practice at all!

It's almost eleven now, and while Harry is having a word with Al, we say our own private goodbyes to our eldest child.

"Rose honey, you be careful, and learn a lot," I hug her and add quietly in her ear, "and let yourself have fun." She smiles at me as our groups join back together and I notice that Ron nods to Harry and we both look to see Draco Malfoy dropping off his son. A few cracks about inheritance and the sorting later, my little girl is climbing on the train with her cousin and I feel Ron's arms around me. Hugo is basically attached to my leg at this point, I know he doesn't want to show it but he's going to miss his big sister a lot.

As the scarlet steam engine disappears from view, we all head back to the Burrow where Ron and I pick up our three youngest sons and head home. Little Harry is walking now so we've had to magic the house a bit for his protection. The twins are doing the stumble and fall thing a lot, which is absolutely adorable but also sort of painful so we added a cushioning charm to the floor to ensure that no one gets hurt.

Having three little boys so close together was basically the least thought out thing I've ever done in my entire life. I love them all of course, and it's been fun having them at work with Ron and me but seriously, they're all going through the same phases so close together that I feel like I'm stuck in a perpetual tornado of poo, screaming, and mischief.

It's surprising me everyday how much trouble little kids can get into; even at the age they're at now. I have a sneaking suspicion though that George might be responsible for a lot of the interesting little manoeuvres they seem to have put together.

I can already tell that Hugo is going to love it when the boys are old enough for him to play with and talk to. He constantly asks questions about the boys, wondering why his brothers aren't as talkative as he is. I can tell he wants so badly to play the big brother role and it's adorable. I think he's going to miss Rose's presence in the house as much as me and Ron, but hopefully the boys will keep him busy.

I can't believe how much weight I've already gained in this pregnancy, I still have months to go and I'm already the size I was when I was six months pregnant with Rose. It must be the age thing, but I've also been letting myself indulge in Ron's sweets more than I used to; I've needed the added energy to work and take care of all my boys.

Working back at the Ministry is great. I'm very thankful that I'll get to be back for a full year before this new baby is born. Getting to work everyday with Harry and Ron, and being able to have the kids with us has been a real treat. Being pregnant again has been a lot more trying this time than last time though. I do think I'm getting too old to continue doing this. I've had to take supplementary potions from Healer Parker a few times a week to help with the "nutrition and well-being" of the baby and my body, but I don't mind, I certainly don't want another scare like what happened with the twins.

I can't believe the twins are almost a year old already, or that I'm almost 36. The other day Ron and I were talking about all of our kids and how they all have the Weasley trademarks, and I got very upset because I knew that one of our kids didn't have the Weasley trademarks at all. It's sort of hard to think about that sometimes. We have all these little versions of Ron running around and although facially you can see me in the kids, all the main indicators spell Ron.

I imagine that Lizzy would've looked a lot like me. She already had deep chocolate eyes even when she was born; I wonder what our next child is going to look like. I wonder if it'll be another boy. I giggle a little at that thought, I don't know if I could handle actually having five sons. I would like another daughter… but I also know that having a daughter might actually be a lot harder in some ways; it would feel more like a replacement.

Coming home seems oddly quieter, even though Rose wasn't ever much of a noise maker. Ron is playing with the boys in the living room so I take the opportunity to go down the hallway and step into our daughter's room. I'm very glad that we have enough money to have a house large enough for all the kids will always have their own rooms… unless we have a lot more.

As I stand in Rose's room I feel a sense of loss. Her bookshelf is half empty, and all her favourite clothes are gone. I feel a tear on my cheek and I sit down on her freshly made bed. I smile through my tears when I see that the picture that usually sits next to her bed of the whole family is gone and I know that it must be finding a new place to live right now at Hogwarts.

I cry a little more, and as I stand up from her bed I see a picture of Ron and me on her wall from our Hogwarts days. I have a strange sense of catharsis run through me. I know that Rose is going to be okay. She's an incredibly smart kid and she's with friends at Hogwarts. She's going to experience the best and worst times of her life in that school, hopefully more good than bad, but when she's finished she's going to be a brave, talented woman who is going to make me proud; hell she already does make me proud.

I smile as I turn out the lights in her room and shut the door with a click. I wander back to the living room and scoop little Harry up from where he was sitting on the floor and take a seat next to Ron on the couch who had Jack in his arms. Hugo was sitting with Ollie on the floor as well and I give Ron a quick kiss on the cheek when he asks if I'm okay.

Being surrounded by my family is exactly what I needed right now. I breathe in the smell of little Harry's hair, and relax on the couch with him in my arms.

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We made a habit of ensuring that Harry, Ginny, Ron and I got together with our kids every year for Halloween. It's a significant day in Harry's life and ours, but it's also a day that we like to enjoy with the children. Harry has always really embraced holidays and celebrations with his kids, my guess being that he never had it growing up until he met Ron and he knows how important it is.

Sadly though, this year seems strangely empty as we all gather at Harry's. With three of our eldest children at Hogwarts we only have two children who really understand the idea behind Halloween. Little Harry, Jack and Ollie are all too young yet. So today after Ron and Harry took Hugo and Lily trick or treating we got the youngest Weasley children to bed in a guest bedroom and settled in the living room to watch as Hugo and Lily go head to head in a chess match.

After a few minutes of enjoying the game, Ron turns to me and Harry and says, "Do you two realize that today is basically the 25th anniversary of our friendship?"

I smile nostalgically as I'm reminded of being rescued from a mountain troll during our first year at Hogwarts.

"I can't believe it's been that long," I say and notice Harry fighting a smirk and trying not to say something, finally he breaks.

"I can't believe we locked you in the loo with that troll," he snickers and Ron looks alarmed but chuckles as Ginny covers her mouth in surprise. WHAT! I thought they had just rescued me, I had no idea they had been the ones to endanger me in the first place.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?" I say loudly, "I took the flack for you two and you were the reason I was in trouble in the first place?"

They were both laughing now, but Ron gave Harry a light smack on the arm, "Damn it Harry we decided we'd never tell her."

"Sorry Ron, I had to make this anniversary the best one ever," Harry retorts and we all laugh.

"Okay so seriously what did happen that night?" I ask, now rather curious.

"Well we knew there was a troll and that you didn't know about it so we were heading to the girls washroom to warn you and we sort of found the troll and got it through a door and trapped it… then we realized we'd trapped it in the girls washroom," Harry explains and now I can't help but laugh.

"Yeah, and we would've told you, but we were so impressed that you took the blame for us that instead we just became friends, after all there truly are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other," Ron adds and I smile and shake my head.

"You boys," we all smile, and afters a few moments of silence I have to add, "I have to admit though guys, that might've been a terrifying experience, but I'm thankful it happened. Look at us now, twenty-five years later and we're all still here and together."

Ron rubs my back gently and says, "And we always will be."

Ginny started laughing a bit and muses, "Yeah they don't call you the golden trio for nothing."

We all laugh at Ginny's comment and start talking about the times we had growing up in Hogwarts.

Things take a bit of a serious turn when Ginny asks me sort of uncomfortably, "Hermione did you ever regret becoming a witch? Knowing that if you hadn't you wouldn't have had to endure the war or risk your life?"

I can see that this question gets Ron and Harry's attention and I realize that they've all probably wondered about that for a long time.

"Oh not for a second," I pause because I've never talked about my muggle life before Hogwarts really, "I never fit in at my muggle schools. I had some friends sure, but it never felt right and I never felt like I belonged anywhere until I walked into Hogwarts. Plus if I hadn't been a witch then I couldn't have helped in the war and we needed all the help we could get." I say this and I know that it's true. I hope that it will settle the matter and I'm surprised when it's Harry that speaks first.

"I know what you mean Hermione, I never fit in either," he pauses and gets that awkward look in his eye like he might become emotional, "and as for needing you in the war, you should know by now that I, that we, could never have done it without you."

I feel my eyes well up in tears; Harry isn't exactly an especially emotional person especially when it comes to using his words so I know that what he's saying means a lot to him.

"Thanks Harry," I say quietly and wipe my eyes as Ron grins in my direction.

We all smile for a second and I realize how lucky I am to be able to call all the people around me family.

"Merlin it's been a great twenty five years," Ron says and we all grin a little at him then he adds, "except for the whole war and misery thing."

We all laugh at this and the mood lightens when Hugo announces that he won the game and Lily demands a rematch.

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Okay so I know I turned Hermione into a Weasley baby machine... lol, but i basically just love the idea of her and ron having loads of "beautiful red headed babies."


	15. Chapter 15

Hey everyone here's another chapter, i hope you all enjoy it, please read and review! i think there may be only one more chapter after this... i'm not sure yet because i arrived at a place in the story that would be a really good ending, but there are still some things i'd like to do, so we'll see. If you have any input let me know!

enjoy!

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Its insane how fast time flies. Harry turned two about a week and a half ago and we just picked Rose up from King's Cross and now the entire Weasley and Potter family is at the Burrow for Christmas. It was amazing to see my little girl again. I can already tell how much more grown up she is. When she got off the train she was surrounded by Al and James and quite a few other Gryffindors and although she was a quiet one in the group I could tell just from staring at the 7 or so kids that they all got along very well.

When Rose saw us she quickly said goodbye to her friends and promised to owl, then ran at Ron and me with a huge grin on her face. We each gave her huge hugs and kisses and greeted James and Al as well with Harry and Gin and now here we all sit in the living room at the Burrow.

"So Rose how are your courses going?" I ask and she smiles and I see a faint blush on her cheeks. She doesn't get a chance to respond however, because Al immediately cuts in, "She's the best at EVERYTHING! She's already earned the most house points out of everyone in the school I bet." He said this proudly and I smiled at my daughter.

Ron must've expected this though because he basically stuck his chest out like a superhero or a very proud father and said, "Well I always knew you were like your mum."

I smile and kiss Ron quickly as Rose's cheeks stop blushing.

"I'm really proud of you Rose," I say quietly so I don't embarrass her and she smiles and gives me a hug. I grin more when I see her hands wander to the bump under my shirt.

"So how's this one?" she smiles up at me and I can't help but run my hands through my daughter's hair as I reply, "I think he or she is doing very well. I've already gotten permission from Hogwarts for you and James and Al to floo to St. Mungo's when this little bun arrives."

Her face lights up and I'm glad that she's so excited to meet her new sibling. I hear James talking excitedly to the rest of the family about Quidditch. He made seeker this year and plans on being just like his dad. We all laugh and smile as he recounts the match against Slytherin that he won the month before and I can see glimpses of Harry in him in a way that makes me warm inside.

Harry's face looks completely at ease and content as he watches his son and listens intently and I can tell that he couldn't be prouder.

Christmas at the Burrow this year is a full one with all of the family coming to stay, including Andromeda and Teddy. Apparently Teddy was insistent that they stay over night too which I hope for his sake had nothing to do with Victoire staying here but from the way they've been wrapped up in each other I really doubt that. It reminds me of Ron and me at a young age… never being able to leave each other alone. They bicker less, but so does everyone else on the planet. I laugh a bit and smile when Charlie walks into the room.

The squeals of joy from all his nieces and nephews makes Charlie smile and suddenly he's being tackled to the ground by all the Weasley children at once. I'm surprised when even Rose joins in on the tackle, holding little Harry's hand to help him out. We all laugh as the kids tickle Charlie and demand dragon stories.

"A little help here PARENTS?" we hear from the ground but can only see kids everywhere. I almost feel bad for the guy, he was just taken down by Louis, Molly, Lucy, James, Al, Lily, Hugo, Rose, Fred, Roxanne, Dominique, and little Harry, not that he was exactly a tough competitor. He is only two.

We all smile as the kids finally back off and Charlie makes his way around the room to say hello to all the adults. He pauses when he gets to me and then leans down and kisses me gently on the cheek.

"Where are those twin nephews of mine? I haven't seen them in a while." he says as he stands back up and swoops little Harry up into his arms and starts tickling him, eliciting a screech of laughter from the two year old boy. I smile and say the twins are upstairs in Ron's old room sleeping.

After Charlie's arrival the entire family is here so we all make our way into the kitchen which has been magically enlarged to fit the abundance of humans for dinner.

About halfway through basically the loudest meal of the century, it quiets down for a few minutes and Angelina takes the opportunity to ask Ron and me very loudly, "So have you guys found out if it's a boy or girl yet? And what you're going to name it?"

The entire family suddenly picked up noise again as they started suggesting names. A lot of "but you have to name it…" was coming at me and Ron but we just smiled and laughed.

Finally they all calmed down and Ron started talking, "Well we've named all the kids after people we love so we'll have to wait and see I guess."

"Oh really? What are all the kids middle names?" Percy's wife Audrey asks so I clear my throat and get prepared to list off our many kids.

"Well we have Rose Jane, after my mum; Hugo Remus, after Remus Lupin and the initials of those two were sort of after me and Ron as well; Elizabeth Ginerva, after Gin of course," I nod and take a deep breath, remembering my daughter for a second as the table grows quiet and I realize they're waiting for me to continue. Ron grasps my hand and gives me a wink and I continue, "Harry William, I think that one's a bit obvious; Jack Fred, and Oliver George."

Everyone is basically smiling as I finish and finally Charlie pipes up, "See mum, you don't need me to have kids with these two breaking your record." We all laugh and I reply quickly, "Well technically after this one we're just tying the record. Nothing's broken… yet!" We all laugh and Ron kisses my cheek.

"Well you know how much I love grandchildren," Molly smiles at us and as the conversation picks back up she says more privately to Ron and me, "And I really do think it's wonderful to name kids after people that have mattered in your lives. It's important to let people know how much you value them."

We smile at her and agree, then I can't help but feel a little bit relieved that the conversation is moving away from focusing on Ron and me as everyone starts giving Percy a hard time for something or other… it's always something when it comes to bugging Percy.

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Christmas break flew past much too quickly for my liking and before I know it, it's a new year and I'm back at King's Cross dropping Rose off again. It's a bit easier this time because I know how happy she is at school, but it's never going to be simple to let any of my kids get on a train and be out of my life for months at a time. Thank god she still writes a couple times a week.

When we arrive home with our four sons we're surprised when Harry and Ginny apparate right into our living room.

"What's up guys?" Ron asks casually as he puts the twins down to play.

"Our house is really empty after all the madness at the Burrow," Ginny replies and sets Lily down to join Hugo and the others, "We just thought we'd see what you guys are up to today."

I smile at Ginny and know exactly what she means, and I'm suddenly very thankful that I have four kids to look after all the time still.

"We didn't really have plans actually, you're welcome to join us of course," I reply and Ron and Harry share a grin and immediately start talking Quidditch while Ginny and I head into the kitchen to make some tea.

"I think I finally understand your desire for more kids Hermione, it's so odd to be anywhere quiet," Ginny laughs as we sit down.

I can't help but wonder what Ginny's thinking. I raise my eyebrows and she laughs and shakes her head, "No no, Mi, I'm finished birthing. I'll just take advantage of the fact that you aren't." We both laugh and start distracting each other from missing the rest of our kids.

It's late in the evening and Ron is considerably late getting home from work. I hope nothing serious is happening. It's almost the end of February now which means that my pregnancy is almost finished so I'm back on maternity leave. The twins and Harry are already down for the night so for now Hugo and I are sitting in the living room playing chess and I'm proud to say he's beating me rather seriously.

"Mum?" Hugo asks as he takes a turn and I look up from the board and encourage him to continue. I don't get a lot of time with just my oldest son, but when we are alone he tends to come out of the shyness a lot and I've learned that Hugo is an extremely aware individual. In a lot of ways he's like Ron, but he's not as insensitive as Ron was when he was young.

"Do you think I'll be okay at Hogwarts?" he pauses and looks a little unsure and then adds, "I mean, how can I do anything that's just about me. James is seeker and Rose is the top of her class… Teddy's a prefect… if all my cousins and Rose are better than me, what if I never get to be anything?" My heart aches a little when I realize just how similar Ron and Hugo are.

I take my focus off the game and move to the couch where Hugo is sitting and wrap my arm around him before looking him in the eye and replying, "Hugo you know that your dad is the youngest of six brothers right?" he nods, "When we went to Hogwarts your dad was constantly afraid of being in the shadow of those brothers. Bill and Percy were both head boys, Charlie captain of the Quidditch team, the twins with their amazing ability for pranks and laughter… he was always really scared of being the Weasley who did nothing. But what did your father end up doing?"

"You guys saved the world!" Hugo tells me excitedly and smiled into my arm.

"Exactly," I smile and give him a squeeze, "now I'm not saying that you're going to need to save the world Hugo, but what I am saying is that there's always a role for every person. You're going to be your own person. That's what matters. It doesn't matter what everyone you know does at all, who you are is what matters Hugo. And I'm telling you right now that no matter what you do in your life that your dad and I will always be proud of you and love you. And for the record, I would say it's very likely indeed that you'll be on the Quidditch team and be a prefect or head boy if you work hard."

Hugo just smiled up at me and I kissed his forehead gently.

"I love you mum," he says quietly and I smile, and reply, "I love you too sweetie."

We sit in content for a few minutes and I notice that Hugo has basically fallen asleep so despite me being nine months pregnant I gently pick him up and carry him to bed. I tuck him in and give him a goodnight kiss then go back to the living room and sit back down on the couch. I notice how late it is and now I'm starting to get a bit worried about Ron. He wouldn't ever usually be late if he could help it, and it was pretty rare, so something must've happened. I shrug and lean forward to the table and grab a photo album. I smile as I flip through the pages of pictures of our Hogwarts years.

Feeling incredibly hormonal and nostalgic, I tear up a bit when I see the picture of Ron and me on the day that I graduated from Hogwarts. It was a tough year without Ron and Harry. Ginny and I clung to each other and helped the professors clean up the school and I actually worked a lot harder when I didn't have to do to the boys work and ended up with incredible scores.

On the last page of the album there's a picture of Ron, Harry, Ginny and me standing in front of Hogwarts smiling proudly and all wrapped up in each other. A tear runs down my cheek as I look back on the people that I love so much. I smile when I hear a familiar 'pop' behind me and I look up to see Ron coming into the room from the kitchen.

"Hey baby," he says as he kisses me hello and sits next to me, "I figured you would've gone to bed by now, but now I can see that you were taking a stroll down memory lane."

I smile and lean into Ron's body as he wraps his arm around me, "Where have you been? It's late and all the kids are already in bed."

"Oh there was an incident at Azkaban earlier so Harry and I had to head out there," Ron must've picked up on my alarm because he quickly added, "don't worry, no escapes or anything. Actually, a few death eaters somehow got out of their cells and turned on each other. When we got there we found them dead."

I shifted in my seat and closed the photo album, put it on the table and turned to Ron, "Which death eaters?"

"Crabbe Snr., Travers, Runcorn and Dolohov," Ron replies and rubs my arm gently.

"I know that this is wrong, but I'm really glad that Dolohov is dead," I say before I can think about it and I'm a bit surprised at my own reaction. When I think about it though I'm not, I never really got over what he did to me at the Ministry, it was my first true brush with death during a battle and it really shook me up.

"Some people are evil, and those four were evil. It's hard to be sad about it," Ron replies softly.

I lean my head into Ron's body and can feel myself wishing to go to sleep. Ron must've felt it because he picked me up and started carrying me down the hallway without me saying a word.

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It's the night of Ron's birthday and the entire family just left aside from my parents who are staying with us now until I go into labour so that someone can be here for the kids. Ron and I are cuddling in bed and the entire house is quiet.

"Did you have a good birthday baby?" I ask and kiss Ron's chest.

He smiles down at me and replies, "a great birthday."

We lock eyes for a few seconds and I can feel myself fading into sleep when a familiar pain courses through me and I realize I'm having a contraction. I relax for a second afterwards but Ron clearly felt my body tense because he's suddenly wide awake and ready to deal with whatever is wrong.

"I just had a contraction," I say calmly and he nods and tells me to lie down on my back which I do and he calmly gets out of bed and gets dressed, then helps me get dressed as well. It's odd how this totally doesn't seem like an emergency at all this time, although my water hasn't broken yet.

"Okay, do you want to go to St. Mungo's now or do you want to wait for your water to break?" Ron asks me and I'm still surprised at his calmness although I can see the excitement in his eyes.

"Why don't you go owl Harry and Ginny and the Burrow and I'll go wake up my parents, I shouldn't have another one for at least ten minutes," I reply and he nods and turns to walk down the hall before turning back and kissing me very softly, but very passionately on the lips. I smile as he pulls away, "you ready Daddy?"

Ron's face softens and he replies, "Always baby, always."


	16. Chapter 16

Hey Everyone... thanks for all the reviews, please keep em coming! There will be two or three more chapters after this I believe, then I might do a prequel... I'm a firm believer that there should be as many post-DH ron/hermione stories in existence possible. lol. anyway, i hope you all enjoy this one...!!

disclaimer: i own nothing.

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Twelve hours later I'm sitting in a hospital room holding a new born baby girl in my arms. We haven't named her yet, but Ron and I are talking about it right now.

"We already know we want the middle name to be Elizabeth right?" Ron asks and I agree.

I smile sadly but perk right up when I look into my daughter's chocolate eyes. Her hair is a very dark red colour that looks really close to brown. It's basically an exact combination of Ron's hair colour and mine, but this girl has my eyes. The second child of ours to have my eyes and she actually facially looks a lot like me, and I couldn't be prouder.

"I wish Percy hadn't taken Molly," Ron says and then chuckles and I laugh too. The rest of the family is in the waiting room with our other kids while Ron and I just quickly get acquainted with our newest addition. It's exciting to have another daughter and I was definitely wrong when I thought that having a daughter would feel like a replacement of Lizzy, it feels like just the opposite. I can't actually put into words how it feels, but I do know that I'm very happy to have three daughters and four sons.

"What about something with an N or T or D… for Tonks, Nymphadora or Dora?" I ask Ron. We always wanted to put Tonk's name on one of our children, but we also knew that if we did that somewhere she'd be really upset with us for doing that to another child.

"That's a good idea. Is there any name you really love with those letters?" Ron asks, but I shake my head. I realize that I literally can't think of the perfect name for this girl, she seems like such a mystery.

"Ron I really have no answers. I'm not even kidding, I feel completely at odds," I smile as Ron plays with his new daughter's fingers and toes.

"Why don't I get the rest of our kids in here? Maybe Rose will have an idea."

I agree and Ron comes back from the waiting room with Rose, Hugo, little Harry, Jack and Ollie. All of them are big enough to walk now and it looks absolutely adorable to see Ron walking around with five kids surrounding him, the twins attached to each of his legs.

"Hey kids," I say quietly hoping they'll pick up on the need to be quiet.

"Mum do I have a sister?" Rose asks excitedly as she nears the bed and I answer, "You all have a new sister."

The excitement on their faces makes my heart swell with affection and I laugh a bit when Rose, and Hugo climb up on the bed, helping Harry, and Ron plops down next to me with the twins in his arms.

"Okay, see now we need your help," Ron starts and pauses to look at all the kids who are now staring at him intently. "We want to name your new sister after your older sister who can't be with us, but we want her name to be a middle name. So this little girl's middle name is going to be Elizabeth, but we can't decide on a first name for this little wonder. Do you guys have any suggestions?"

I laugh when Harry calls out "Harry." Ron rubs his head affectionately and I know that three of the kids are probably too young for this but Rose speaks up after a few minutes of quiet consideration.

"Mum, Dad, why don't we name her Charlie?" This gets everyone's attention and I look at Ron who smiles at the possibility. Charlie Elizabeth Weasley? I never really considered Charlie as a little girl's name, but now that it's been said I think it's a great idea.

I look down at the little baby in my arms and whisper, "Charlie Elizabeth, is that you?" We all gasp when she opens her eyes up and looks at the family surrounding her and I know that we have her name.

"Thank you Rose, it's perfect, and your uncle Charlie is going to be very happy," Ron says and kisses Rose on the head.

Hugo suddenly jumps off the bed and starts running at the door so I quickly ask, "Hugo where are you going?"

He turns back around with a huge grin on his face and responds, "I'm going to get EVERYONE."

With that he runs out the door leaving Ron, Rose and me chuckling away. The twins and Harry are now just playing with the blankets on my bed and when the door opens and my parents walk in with all the Weasley's and Potter's; we smile when we see that Hugo is holding Charlie's hand.

"Rose sweetie why don't you tell everyone?" I say and she gleams with pride.

"Everyone, I would like you to meet my sister, we just picked out the name… I picked it out!!" she adds excitedly, "this is Charlie Elizabeth Weasley."

All the parents sighed in admiration and the sight of all the family surrounding my bed is enough to make tears come to my eyes. Ginny approaches the bed first and gives me a light kiss on the forehead.

"Hey Mi, can I hold my newest niece?" I smile and she gently takes Charlie from my arms and walks her around the room to meet every one. She pauses when she gets to Charlie and says, "Hey big brother, want to hold your name sake?"

Charlie is visibly moved and I feel Ron's arm come around me as our kids hop off the bed to gather around Charlie holding their newest sibling. It makes sense to me to name a child after the brother that Ron looked up to the most the entire time he was growing up, and the brother that has always been there for all of us, putting our needs and our kids needs first.

After a few seconds of meeting his niece, Charlie asked his mum if she'd like to hold her granddaughter and of course Molly snapped her up right away. We all laughed at her reaction and Charlie approached me and Ron and clapped Ron on the shoulder.

"Thank you guys, she's amazing," he says gently and I feel a tear slip out of my eye and Charlie gives me a kiss on the cheek. When he pulls away I see that my parents have now gotten a hold of the newest addition and finally Harry. Harry holds her for a few seconds and then looks up at me and Ron with a huge grin, "Mi, she has your eyes."

I nod and smile, "Yeah, I guess 2 for seven isn't so bad." We all chuckle a bit at the ratio and I'm happy when I see Harry walking towards Ron who takes his new daughter in his arms very gently and kisses her forehead, then kisses my forehead again. The family soon leaves us with all our kids and promises to return soon. Harry and Ginny hang back, they're taking our kids home with them for a night while Ron and I stay at the hospital.

We all marvel a little while longer at the newest Weasley until I start to feel drowsy. Ginny gathers the kids and I can feel my eyes closing. Ron kisses my lips as he holds his daughter and before I fall asleep I hear Ginny leave the room with all the kids, but I hear Ron and Harry's voices quietly talking.

"You better be careful Ron, that girl is going to be gorgeous," Harry says quietly and I hear him give my daughter a kiss on her head goodbye.

I hear Ron's reply, "Yeah I know, I don't know if I've ever told Hermione this, but the thing that made me realize just how beautiful she is for the very first time was when I looked deep into those eyes of hers. They really are something else."

I almost don't want to go to sleep now when I hear this conversation, god I love him.

Harry chuckles softly and I hear a pat of some kind and think that they may've just hugged.

"You know… Lizzy had them too," Ron says quietly and I hear the pain in his voice.

"I never got to meet her," is Harry's quiet reply, "But I bet she was amazing Ron, no kid from you and Mi couldn't be."

I hear Ron sniffle and realize he's crying; now I feel guilty for being half asleep.

"I feel more connected to her now somehow, I can't describe it," Ron says softly.

"Ron look at me for a second," Harry says and when he continues I know that Ron must've just met his eyes, "Ron, I know we've been through this before, I know I've said this before, but Ron what happened to Lizzy wasn't your fault. I'm glad you feel connected to her now through her sister. The love that your kids get from you, it's so important and so pure that I can't describe it. I had a horrible childhood Ron, but it was you, it was absolutely you and Hermione that gave me the love that made me the man I am today."

Harry paused for a second before continuing, "I know that wherever Lizzy is Ron, that she is celebrating her sister right now. I know that wherever she is she can feel the love you have for her and that Hermione and all of us have for her. Dumbledore always got one thing right Ron, and that was his insistence that love is the most powerful thing in the world. Nothing can stop it Ron, not even death. I never got to know my parents, just like you never got to know Lizzy, but I know that they love me. I know that I love them."

"Thank you Harry," Ron said quietly and added, "I hope you know that the love we gave you was just what you deserved. You're the best brother a guy could ask for, and the best friend. Mione and I would be no where without you. The way you've supported us especially through everything with Lizzy, it just proves to me that sitting in that train compartment was at least in the top ten of the best things I've ever done."

I hear them both chuckle and Harry muses, "only in the top ten?"

I hear Ron laugh, "Well before seventh year it was the best thing I ever did. But now there are about nine things that tie for first. My seven kids, my friendship with you, and loving Hermione forever. Nothing beats those."

"I thought you said ten," Harry says and I can hear his smile.

"Well watching the Cannons at the cup five years ago was pretty great too," Ron laughs and so does Harry and the joke wakes me up completely and I look right at them, shaking my head and grinning.

"Honestly Ronald," I say, getting their attention.

They both blush a little and stop laughing, "I knew you were awake," Ron says, "You've always sucked at faking it, remember?"

Harry and Ron both walk towards my bed so I take the opportunity to tell them how much they mean to me. "You guys locking me in the bathroom with that troll was definitely one of the top nine things I ever did too."

We all share a grin and Harry stands up, "Okay, I love you both, but I'm going to go and take care of all of our kids, so get some rest."

He gives us one last glance and then joins Ginny out in the hallway, leaving Ron and I alone with Charlie.

"She really is beautiful Ron," I say, and he smiles up at me.

"So you heard the entire conversation?" Ron asks, with a knowing look on his face. When I nod shyly, he adds, "Well then let me take this opportunity to tell you that you have the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen, and that you set my heart on fire with just a glance."

I'm shocked at Ron's words, and smile as he gives me a quick kiss. "You really do need to rest, and I think it's about time for Charlie here to go back to the new baby room. I'll go give her back to a nurse and then crawl in with you."

I smile at Ron and watch him as he leaves the room. I look at the ring on my finger and realize that I'm still smiling. The grin on my face stays as I slowly fall to sleep.


	17. Chapter 17

Hey everyone here's another chapter. thanks for all the reviews, they're very appreciated. i hope you all enjoy this update, i always wondered how a conversation like this one would go, so i wrote it!... anyway please read and review!

ENJOY!

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It's the end of July now and Rose has been back from her first year at Hogwarts for just over a month. Charlie is five months old, her twin brothers are about a year and 10 months old, Harry is just over two and a half, Hugo turned seven in May, and Rose turned 12 while she was at Hogwarts.

The boys are old enough now that the play together constantly and it really does feel like all three of them are the same age. They've been going to the Burrow with Hugo and Lily during the week and I know that they're keeping Molly on her toes, not that she'd ever complain. I think having three little boys running around her house is really reminding her of Fred and George when they were growing up and in some way is helping her finally put Fred's death to rest.

Charlie is an adorable little girl. Her chocolate eyes seem to get more and more vibrant with each day that passes and I'm scared to admit that Harry was totally right- boys are going to love this little girl. When Rose came home from Hogwarts she seemed much older than when she left, much more independent. I think that's okay though; I think every kid needs to feel independent when they're growing up and I know that she'll always come to me for help if she needs it. I am however, very happy to report that she had a completely 100 totally normal year at Hogwarts with no three headed dogs or teachers with dark wizards sharing their bodies.

Rose also received an award this year for achieving the highest marks of a first year ever in the school's history, she even beat me! We attended the ceremony a few weeks ago where my blushing daughter had to accept a plaque with her name on it in front of her entire family and school; fortunately her entire family is basically the same size as the school so she wasn't too uncomfortable.

Neville became the Head of Gryffindor House this year, making him the proudest Herbology professor you could possibly imagine and we were proud of him too. His kids are all at Hogwarts now too and I know he loves being able to see them everyday.

In the beginning of July Ron and I took a couple weeks off and took all of our kids to Romania to visit Charlie for a week or so and then went to spend one more week in my parent's vacation home in Southern France. It was an amazing trip despite the screaming children and it was really nice to be able to spend some time with Rose since we both missed her so much last year.

I'm turning 37 in just a few months and I can't help but smile at how happy I am at this point in my life. All my kids are healthy and happy and Ron and I seem to have uncovered even more of each other in the past few years. I feel closer to him now than I ever have before and I know that the love I have for him is probably the most honest thing in my life. It's like second nature to love Ron, like I never knew how not to love him. It's sort of like with my kids… When they were born I just loved them right from the start unconditionally and forever, and with Ron I feel like I wouldn't be able to stop loving him unconditionally even if I tried.

Charlie just started going to the Burrow with her siblings while Ron and I work and Rose has decided that this summer she'd like to be in charge of taking care of Charlie during the days at the Burrow since she's had to miss the first few months of her younger sister's life and I'm sure that Molly will be happy to have the support. It was nice having Charlie in the office with us for the past month that I've been back at work but in some ways it does feel good to have my office go back to being where I work; I feel like people are starting to take me seriously again instead of as a woman who can't seem to stop having children.

Ron and I have been eating lunch with Harry and sometimes Ginny basically everyday and it's odd, but I feel like our relationship with them has grown deeper somehow too. Like they've seen the absolute worst in Ron and me and still love us and I know that we can count on them for anything. We've also started our own ritual of having meals together with our kids every Friday or Sunday night on top of going to the Burrow with the entire family on Saturdays. I think this is nice for Hugo and Lily since their older siblings aren't around all the time to play with.

This summer Ron and Harry started a project: a Weasley-Potter Quidditch pitch in the stretch of yard behind our house. It's coming along very well and after I secured the permit from the Ministry, I placed every kind of muggle repelling spell there is on the pitch so now the kids can fly as high as they like while they play. Every day we've had off so far this summer Ron and Harry and sometimes Ginny have been out on the pitch with James, Al, Hugo, Lily and whichever cousins want to come, playing until the sun goes down. Hugo has taken a natural liking to playing Beater and he is easily as good as Fred or George ever was, probably better.

James' seeking is improving by the day and I can't help but wonder what would be different if Harry had had the opportunity to play this much; he'd probably have gone pro just like Ginny. James might be able to as well with his talents. Albus is a fair chaser, and wants to try out for the House Team this year so Ginny has been helping him with learning moves while Ron has been playing Keeper to train him up. The Weasley and Potter kids are going to end up taking over the entire team at this rate; and the school once all the kids are there.

Its late afternoon on a Monday now and since Ron and Harry are in a meeting I'm on my way to the Burrow to pick up all the kids with Ginny. She should be at my office any sec- I hear a knock…

"Come in," I say as I quickly close the book I was using for research and as I put it in my desk door Ginny walks in.

"Hey there Mrs. Weasley," she says with a laugh, "you ready to go?"

I chuckle, "Yes Mrs. Potter, I actually just finished for the day."

I gather my things quickly and lock up my office and before I know it Ginny and I are at the Burrow and talking to Molly about the happenings in the family. After an hour or so of catching up, I know that it's late enough now that the kids are going to start getting hungry so I gather them all together and let Rose floo with Jack, Hugo with Ollie, and I take Harry and Charlie together.

I smile when I get into my own living room and find that all the kids are already settled down and playing together. Rose approaches me quickly and says in a very grown up manner, "Mum can I help you make dinner?"

I smile and put my arm around her and guide her into the kitchen, I love spending any kind of time with Rose because it's like getting to know myself all over again. She's basically exactly like I was when I was her age.

We make dinner together as Rose asks me question after question about my time at Hogwarts.

"Mum I know that you don't really like talking about it, no one does, but could you tell me what happened when you and dad went with Uncle Harry to get Voldemort?" I must've looked as stunned as I felt because she added quickly, "I'm sorry, it's just that a lot of people at school know who me and James and Al are, and all the other Weasley's, and they don't give us a hard time or anything but they do treat us differently sometimes. Especially that Scorpius Malfoy who is a dreadful mean boy. Always calls me a mudblood. I know that you guys are heroes, and I know that you stopped Voldemort together instead of going to your seventh year, but what happened? Why is Uncle Fred gone? Why are you in all my textbooks?"

I feel stunned. As she was saying all these things I basically just stood sort of in shock, I hadn't really ever realized that we'd never given any of the kid's warnings about our days fighting Voldemort, and hearing her say that a Malfoy calls her a mudblood sort of made my blood boil a bit; they never learn.

"Rose honey, I want to give you an explanation, and I will, I promise, but I think that for now I'm just going to tell you that your dad and I will talk to Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny and see if we can get all the kids together and tell you at once. You all deserve to know why everyone knows your name. And as for that Malfoy boy calling you a mudblood, don't think on it for a second Rose. His father used to call me the same thing at school but it was really only because they're both jealous of the brains we have, and they have some crazy idea about pureblood being superior. It's a death eater mentality that I honestly haven't heard a lot of people express in a long time. If he says it again you tell Neville, okay?"

She nods in agreement, "so you're going to tell us everything?"

I pause before answering; I can't tell my twelve year old daughter the details on horcruxes. No one should know about them, "Rose I'll tell you what you've asked, I promise, I just need to make sure we only have to do this once. None of us like reliving the experiences we went through that year," I answer and I'm relieved when Ron's voice sounds in the living room- he must've just gotten home.

After dinner that night once all the kids are in bed Ron and I are sitting in the living room talking about the work we did that day and the meeting he went to when I remember Rose's inquisition.

"Ron," I say getting his attention, "Rose asked me earlier all about the war with Voldemort, about why we're in textbooks, why everyone knows who we are…" I pause and clear my throat, "why her Uncle Fred isn't here." Ron looks a bit surprised and sad when I say this but I continue, "She told me that Malfoy's kid has been calling her a mudblood," Ron's face goes red with anger at this point, "but I told her not to worry about it and to tell Neville next time." That seems to appease Ron for now.

"She was just asking a lot of questions, about Voldemort, about seventh year, and she says that James and Al have the same kinds of questions. What do you think we should do?"

Ron looks at me and takes my hand, "what did you tell her?"

"I told her that she would get her answers but that I needed to talk to you and Harry and Ginny first, hopefully so that we could make it so we only had to do this explanation the one time," I say and Ron nods.

"Okay so tomorrow we'll talk to Harry and Ginny about it and maybe tomorrow night we could have everyone over here for dinner and then afterwards we'll explain it all to them. Not the twins or Charlie or little Harry though, they're too young and it'll mess with their heads."

I agree and Ron and I continue talking until it gets late enough to go to bed.

The next day Harry and Ginny meet us for lunch and we all make an agreement to tell our kids what happened, leaving out all the details on Horcruxes since we all feel the same way: no one should ever know the details on such horrible things.

Harry and Ron are picking up food for dinner tonight while Ginny and I picked up the kids and now we're all back at our house just eating dinner and afterwards we're going to gather so we can tell the kids what happened. It'll be late enough that the youngest kids will be going to bed so after that we'll sit down with James, Al, Rose, Hugo and Lily and tell them the story of Lord Voldemort.

I start the conversation, knowing it'll be easiest for me since I can talk about it like its right out of a textbook.

"Okay kids, I know you all have a lot of questions, but if you guys want us to be able to tell you all of this it means you're going to have to not interrupt us for a little while okay?" Once all the kids express their agreement I start the story.

"A long time ago now, about 45 years ago, there was a wizard who was evil. His name was Lord Voldemort, or Tom Marvolo Riddle. After rising to power for about eleven years, Riddle heard of a prophecy concerning a child that would be born at the end of the seventh month of the year, to people who had thrice defied him, and this child would have the power to vanquish him because he would have power the dark lord knows not. This boy was Harry Potter."

The kids all had heard the basic story before, but none of them knew the whole truth behind Harry's scar exactly. The kids looked strangely intrigued and Harry continued.

"The Halloween after my first birthday I was with my parents and we all lived in Godric's Hollow. We were in hiding because my parents became aware, through Albus Dumbledore that Voldemort was looking for them. They were betrayed by a man named Peter Pettigrew who gave Voldemort their location and he attacked. He killed my father, who tried to give my mother enough time to get me and her away, but Voldemort caught up with her as well and she sacrificed her life to save mine. When she did that she put what I guess you could call a mark on me. She protected my life with her own and her sacrifice protected me when Voldemort turned his wand on me. That night Voldemort lost all his power after his killing curse bounced off of me and hit him. That's why I have the scar on my forehead, and that's why everyone in the wizarding world has always known my name."

"But that's a good thing to be famous for isn't it Dad? I mean you stopped him! That's amazing," Albus said quickly and the rest of the kids looked inclined to agree.

"In some ways it was good. I mean, I did remove him from power for thirteen years, but remember that I was also famous for the most tragic moment in my life. It wasn't exactly easy to grow up with that constant reminder, although it didn't affect me right away since I wasn't raised in the wizarding world," Harry answers this quietly and then Ron takes the reigns.

"Now through our first few years at Hogwarts we went through a lot together. There were a few attempts on Harry's life by followers of Voldemort who were trying to secure his return, and there was also this book that was given to your Aunt Ginny in her first year that actually held part of Voldemort in it and was working to release his memory into Ginny so he could come back," Ron sighed and Ginny continued.

"The book was slipped into my schoolbooks and I started using it as a diary and I didn't know right away, but eventually I realized that I was being possessed by Voldemort and that the bad things happening around the school were my fault."

"Not your fault Gin," I say very quickly, "Ginny wasn't in control."

"Basically Voldemort tried to come back to power by stealing Ginny's life force, but luckily Harry got there in time to stop it and he killed the diary in the process. Remember what your Grandpa Weasley always says kids, never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it's brain lives," Ron says very seriously and the kids all nod, clearly afraid of what happened.

"In our third year a man escaped from Azkaban who was put there for crimes he wasn't guilty of. He was my godfather and his name was Sirius Black. Eventually we got his name cleared when we proved that Peter Pettigrew was at fault but Sirius still died a few years later at the hand of one of Voldemort's most loyal followers, Bellatrix Lestrange. But Sirius is the reason that I found out what really happened to my parents and he took good care of me when he could after that. Bought me a Firebolt, the first one!" Harry said and smiled sadly, I noticed Ginny wrap her hand tightly around his; Harry never truly got over losing Sirius although I know seeing him with the resurrection stone helped a lot.

The kids all looked impressed at the mention of the broomstick and then I continued, "During our fourth year there was this tournament held, called the Triwizard Tournament, and Harry was-" I was cut off by Rose who looked very eager.

"I read about this! It was the first time the tournament had been held in a really long time because of the death count and three schools compete between each other for 1000 galleons and the cup and ETERNAL GLORY! The champion for Beauxbatons was Aunt Fleur!" She paused and looked at us for confirmation which we gave, "She came in last place though, and then there was a Durmstrang Champion, the best seeker in the world at the time, he played for Bulgaria and his name was Viktor Krum. Mum you dated him!" She said this happily and I felt myself blush.

I cleared my throat and could hear Harry and Ginny giggling, "Rose where did you hear that?"

"Oh after I read about the tournament I was looking at newspapers and stuff and it said you dated him. You did didn't you?" all the kids were looking at me now as Ron sat next to me with his arms crossed.

"Well we didn't date exactly," Harry laughs, "we went to the Yule Ball together and were really good friends for a long time afterwards. We still write actually, not often, only if something major happens in our lives, like when I had you guys!"

"Let's move on," Ron says quickly and Rose once again takes up the floor. I glance at Ginny who I can tell is hardly keeping her laughter concealed.

"Anyway, they use the Goblet of Fire to select the champions but it got confunded by a dark wizard who made sure that Uncle Harry's name came out too so Hogwarts had two champions, Cedric Diggory and Uncle Harry."

The room went a bit quiet, the kids were sitting around being impressed at Harry I think, or maybe being amused at Ron's jealousy, but us adults were thinking of the death of Cedric Diggory. Surprisingly, it was Harry who started talking next.

"Cedric and I both touched the Triwizard Cup at the same time and a death eater had turned it into a port key so we were transported to where Voldemort was. He killed Cedric and then used my blood to come back to power, which he did, worse than ever before," Harry said this with a tone of regret and finality.

"During our fifth year Voldemort was after the prophecy that he'd heard before, when he went after me. He wanted to know what happened and why he couldn't kill me when he'd tried. The prophecy was in the Department of Mysteries and one night he used a connection that he had to my mind to put a fake image of him torturing my godfather in the Department of Mysteries to lure me there into a trap. Sadly, it worked and although me, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Luna and Neville escaped, my godfather was killed that night. It was after that night that Dumbledore finally started being straight with me and letting me in on his plan to kill Voldemort forever," Harry said this all quickly and the kids were now totally enthralled with this story.

I'm glad we're only giving them the light version of the story though, it's already been almost an hour and the full version would've taken a lot longer.

"Dumbledore was a brilliant man of course, and he had figured out that Voldemort had used these things called Horcruxes to make himself immortal." Harry paused here and looked very seriously at the children, "Now I'm telling you this because I believe you are old enough and mature enough to hear it. You will never see this version of events in any book, we've never given the details, and we're not going to now. The only thing you need to know is that a Horcrux holds a piece of soul and that Voldemort had many of them which is why he didn't die the night his own killing curse bounced off me and hit him."

The kids looked a bit surprised at Harry's seriousness, but it is imperative that they understand.

"After our sixth year, Dumbledore passed away and at the time of his death only two Horcruxes had been destroyed. We knew that there were five more to finish off, including the piece inside Voldemort, so after Dumbledore's we decided to leave Hogwarts and finish them off ourselves," Harry said and glanced at Ginny, I know he's thinking of the year of their lives they were apart and she probably is too.

"So that summer we went to your Uncle Bill's wedding to your Aunt Fleur, and during the evening we received notice that the Ministry of Magic had fallen and we had to get out of there. After that we were on the run and for months searching the country side and looking for a way to stop Voldemort," Ron adds next.

"We went everywhere we could and were attacked and tortured," I shudder as I remember Malfoy Manor, and Ron kisses my forehead, "and we even broke into Gringotts and rode out on a dragon," now the kids looked impressed, "and once we'd found all these horcruxes we ended up back at Hogwarts where the final Battle took place."

"That's where we lost your Uncle Fred kids," Ginny says and I can tell she's holding back tears. I rub Ron's back affectionately and Ginny adds, "and that's also where Harry sacrificed himself for the lives of all the people he loved. He died that night in the forest."

The kids just looked shocked now and Harry spoke up.

"I didn't know at the time, but apparently a piece of Voldemort's soul had been inside of me ever since the night he tried to kill me, so when he killed me that night in the forest he actually killed a piece of himself, and I got to come back and be wholly my own. No more connection to Voldemort, and finally Voldemort was a mortal man. Neville finished off his snake which was also a Horcrux and then finally in the end it was just me versus Voldemort. He tried to curse me as I tried to disarm him, and it didn't work out because his own curse hit him and he died," Harry paused, "Finally."

"The reason that everyone knows who we are is because everyone knows that we were the ones who finished him off in the end. That's why they know who you are, and that's why we're in your textbooks."

"You guys saved the world, we already knew that, but Dad," James directed at Harry, "you sacrificed everything."

I'm glad the kids understand the depth of the situation.

"James I did what I had to do to help the people I loved and the people that were suffering. Voldemort and his followers were evil and he needed to be expunged from this world and I'm proud to say he is now," Harry answered quickly and clasped his sons shoulder.

"But why does Scorpius call me a mudblood?"

I take a breath, preparing to answer but surprisingly it's Ron who speaks up first.

"Rose, Voldemort's followers called themselves death eaters and the Malfoy family have been in that circle for years and years until the very end. They didn't fight for Voldemort in the end, and in fact Narcissa Malfoy, Scorpius' mother actually saved your Uncle Harry's life by lying to Voldemort and saying he was already dead. Those wizards though, the death eaters, and even some people who aren't death eaters, just crazy, believed and some still do that a wizard with pureblood, that is, from an ancient wizarding family, is better than a wizard who is muggle-born or half-blood. Mudblood is a really nasty name for someone whose birth they thought wasn't good enough. It's a load of tosh really," Ron smiles up at me, "Your mum was a perfect example of that in school. She's the brightest witch of her age and she was a muggle born. They called me a blood-traitor because I am a pureblood and I don't care about blood status at all. Your grandparents taught me a lot better than that."

Rose nods in understanding and the other kids do too.

"Wow so you guys really are heroes, no wonder people treat you like you're famous, you guys saved everything," Lily says quietly and smiles up at us.

"Something you kids have to realize is that we did what we had to do. We never asked for any of the fame that came with defeating Voldemort, we only did it because we made the choice between what was right and what was easy. So you kids remember that if you ever have to make a similar choice, you always choose what's right, not what's easiest," Harry tells them very clearly.

The adults in the room share a look of understanding; it's been a very long time since we've given any version of our story to anyone, but I hope the kids understand clearly.

"And kids, please don't boast about these things or tell people these things. It doesn't matter what they think or if they have questions. They can get their answers in textbooks, don't give details to people about what happened, you never know who'll get a hold of that information," says Ginny and I agree. Reporters are always looking for ways into our lives for stories so we do have to be careful.

"Does everyone know?" Hugo says curiously.

"Well the family knows the entire truth, but you won't find very many people besides them that do," Harry answers and sees that Al is struggling with something so he asks, "What's wrong Al?"

Albus looks a little uncomfortable for a second then asks, "So why is Severus such an important name. I know that Albus Dumbledore was Headmaster and a great man, but I don't know anything about Snape other than that he was the bravest man you ever knew."

Ron looks like wants to be angry at the thought of Harry saying Snape was that brave, but it was true and he knew it too.

"Al, Severus Snape was a professor at Hogwarts while we were there, but he went to school with my parents and he loved my mother. He followed Voldemort but when he found out that Voldemort was going after my parents he turned on him and spied for Dumbledore at great personal risk for years, and when Voldemort came back to power he went back to spying on him and he passed information to the Order of the Phoenix for years. He did everything in his power to keep me alive because he loved my mother, and eventually Voldemort killed him for no reason other than convenience. His last act was to give me the answers to finishing off Voldemort, which he gave me in a memory and that memory explained to me that I had a piece of Voldemort inside of me and that I needed to sacrifice myself if the wizarding world stood a chance at survival," Harry took a breath, "he and I never got along, he hated me but he still did what he could to protect me and for that I will forever be in his debt. He had his faults and he was not a perfect man, but at some point in his life he was my mother's best friend and in the end his love was stronger than his hate."

Al nodded in understanding and I glanced at the clock and noticed how late it was.

"Okay kids it's getting really late, do you have any other questions for us? You don't have to ask them all now of course, you can always ask us anything you want, but just remember that this isn't the easiest topic to talk about for us, not in details anyways," I say and I can see Harry, Ginny and Ron nodding in agreement.

"Okay if you guys don't have anymore questions then James, Al, Lily we should get home," Harry says and he and Ginny stand up and start getting the kids together as Rose and Hugo make the way down the hall to their rooms. While their kid's floo back to their house Ginny and Harry stand with us for a few seconds.

"Well I'm glad we didn't go into too much detail, we would've been here all night," Harry says and we all chuckle.

"Yeah it would've been hard to put that many years into a couple hours," I say "but thanks guys, I'm glad that we told them."

"It's important for them to know why people look at them differently, it bothered me when I was young and no one would give me a straight answer about my scar," Harry said very casually. It's nice to see that Harry has sort of put all this behind him. "It was weird talking about all this again though," he adds and I agree.

Once they leave, Ron and I are tired enough that after saying quick good nights to Rose and Hugo and checking on our youngest four children we waste no time in going to bed and after a few minutes of quiet reflection on the evening I let sleep take over as I nestle my face into Ron's chest.


	18. Epilogue

Okay everyone, heres the final chapter. I was going to write an in between chapter but I changed my mind, I like this as the ending. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed writing this fic, I would work on it during class instead of paying attention and it was the best distraction. I hope you all enjoy this final installment. I'm sort of debating writing a prequel so if you think I should then please let me know. I'm going to be moving for the next week or so, thats why you're getting the end today, but please leave reviews! I will read them at some point. Anyway, thank you for reading this story and I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have. With no further ado, here's the end:

EPILOGUE  
August 30, 2029

As I'm being twirled around on the dance floor by Ron, I take in my surroundings. I'm at my eldest daughter's wedding. She's 24 years old and just married a very nice, great looking, young man with a brilliant career as a professional Quidditch player ahead of him. Rose has been working at the Ministry of Magic since she left Hogwarts as an unspeakable. She managed to tie my scores, for a record that we now share as the two highest scoring Hogwarts students in history.

She got to know Devon Wyeth at one of James' games about five years ago. James has been playing professional Quidditch since being recruited to the Chudley Cannons right out of Hogwarts, not really surprising considering his mum was one of the highest scoring chasers in the league history and that his dad was the legendary seeker Harry Potter. Devon has played as a chaser on the Cannons as long as James has played seeker, they graduated from Hogwarts together. At Hogwarts Devon and Rose knew each other but didn't know each other too well until afterwards.

Ron probably wouldn't be dealing with his first born daughter getting married if the man she married wasn't one of the best players in the league. It was hard to watch Ron give Rose away today but the tears of joy on her face are easily enough to put most of my fears to rest. Rose is happy and she has found the love her life, just like I did.

The wedding reception is a fairly large affair considering both of the families and all our friends are here. The press has been trying to get in as well since Rose is the first of the "Golden Trio's" kids to get married.

I can't believe how much has happened in the past fifteen years. I will be turning 50 this September, and two days from now Ron and I will dropping our youngest child, a boy, born two years after Charlie, named David Arthur after both of our fathers and "Dumbledore's Army," off to catch the train to Hogwarts for the first time ever. After that all of our children will officially be students at Hogwarts or graduates. It's going to be strange to have an empty house.

Rose is 24 now and working as an unspeakable; Hugo is 19 and graduated from Hogwarts over a year ago now. He's on the reserve team for the Chudley Cannons as a beater, just waiting for his chance to move up. Harry William is 15 and just became a Hogwarts Prefect, not to mention a chaser on the House team. Jack and Ollie are 14 now, they both play for the house team, and Jack is a seeker and Ollie a keeper. The three of them are inseparable these days now that they're all at Hogwarts and I know they love being able to play Quidditch together. They all do well in school too, Rose was Head Girl, and Hugo was a prefect while he was there. Harry became a prefect this year but I don't think Ollie or Jack will ever become prefects; they definitely take after Fred and George in the sense that they're totally brilliant but would rather have fun.

Charlie Elizabeth Weasley is 13 this year and entering her third year at Hogwarts. She's just excited to be able to go on Hogsmeade weekends to visit her uncle's shop and hangout with her siblings and cousins. Charlie does very well in school as well, and I know she's excited for her youngest brother, David Arthur, to join her at Hogwarts this year since he's going to be going into his first year.

The Potter kids have done well for themselves too. James graduated as a school prefect and was instantly recruited to the pro-Quidditch League, where he's been ever since. Al graduated as Head Boy and is training to be an Auror now, just like his dad. Lily just finished at Hogwarts, with Hugo, and as Head Girl, she played chaser for three years at school but opted to start training to become a healer. Lily must've gotten all her Grandmother's talent for potions, she won every potions award you could imagine at Hogwarts and there were schools and hospitals all over the world trying to get her to work for them, but Lily decided to stay near family and apprentice at St. Mungo's as a potion maker.

I smile as I see Devon and Rose approaching Ron and me on the dance floor and when we trade partners I find myself tearing up at the sight of Ron holding his daughter who is suddenly such a grown up. I think I'm scaring Devon a bit though.

"Don't worry Devon, this isn't your fault," I chuckle a bit and he smiles.

"When my older sister got married my parents had a tough time of it, it's hard to see a child grow up. Don't worry though Mrs. Weasley, I promise that I love Rose more than anything else on this earth. She's in good hands," Devon says this so sincerely that now I'm definitely having tears run down my cheeks.

"Devon, you're part of this family now, you can call me Hermione," I smile and he grins back. When the song is finished we find our way back over to Ron and Rose and I can see that Ron may have just wiped his cheeks clear of tears as well. When I see Rose I give her a hug that I think might qualify me as the same type of bone crusher as Molly, FINALLY, I understand.

"Mum, don't worry about me," Rose says as Devon takes her hand she shoots him a smile.

"Oh Rose," I shake my head and chuckle, "I've never been worried about you, you're a brilliant young woman and I'm sure you're going to be fine, and I'm glad that you found such a great man. I'm just going to miss you sweetie. You're always going to be my little girl." I say this and then I feel Rose's arms around me. I embrace her as well and see that Devon and Ron have wandered away for a few seconds to give us some time.

"Is this also because Davie starts Hogwarts and now the house is going to be empty?" she says knowingly; damn that girl for getting my brains.

"Sometimes I hate that we think so similarly," I laugh and she smiles at me.

"It's okay mum, we all need you still, believe me," my daughter is a remarkable woman and I stand in awe of her. She's gorgeous; looks just like her aunt Ginny, but carries herself with a confidence that isn't overbearing but instead feels deserving. Charlie is growing up fast and I can see how boys are already starting to turn heads but thankfully she's so modest she doesn't see it coming and it doesn't go to her head.

I catch my breath a bit when I think of Lizzy; how I'll never get to be at her wedding or see the woman she would've become and I know that Rose is feeling it too.

"I think about her, mum," I look up when Rose says this, "all the time."

"Me too," I reply honestly, "she would've loved this I bet, being able to see her older sister get married."

"I wish that she could've been here. It's weird to think I have seven siblings when one of them never had a chance to live with us," Rose says this and I smile sadly back at her, then she continues, "but from what you've told me she looked just like you, so I guess I can just imagine you thirty years younger if I ever want to look at her."

I laugh a bit at this comment, "I'm sure she would've been a lot prettier than me Rose, my other daughter's certainly have been." I give her one more hug before we rejoin the rest of the family to celebrate my daughter's big day.

Once the party dies down and Rose and Devon leave for their honeymoon, Ron and I gather our five youngest kids, the ones who live with us still, and we arrive home; I glance up at the clock on the wall of our house.

After we had Charlie we got a very special present from Molly and Arthur: new hands for the clock! Finally each member of our family had a place on the clock, even Lizzy, whose hand we bewitched to always be on home. When I got pregnant with David I told Ron by giving him a new hand on the clock which we mounted the second we had our son.

Right now it has Ron, me, Lizzy, Harry, Ollie, Jack, Charlie and David all at home; Hugo is at the Burrow still; and Rose is on Travelling. Two days from now only Ron and me will be at home with Lizzy, and finally after 25 years of being pregnant and having kids, I'm at peace with having an empty nest for some parts of the year.

RHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRH

We dropped off our five kids this morning to catch the Hogwarts Express and ever since I've been sitting in our living room looking back at the past thirty years. It's been over thirty years since Voldemort was defeated. Ron and I have been married for twenty-eight years, we had our first child, Rose, 24 years ago; our second child, Hugo, 19 years ago, and our third child, Lizzy, 17 years ago. It's been 15 years since my depression and nearly as long since we had our fourth child, Harry. It's been almost 14 years since we had twins, Jack and Ollie; 13 and a bit since we had our daughter Charlie, 11 since we had our youngest child, David Arthur, and I have to admit, I am very happy with how my life is now. At almost age 50 I feel totally complete.

I hear the familiar 'pops' of apparition in the kitchen and when I wander in there I find Ron, Harry and Ginny all standing there with food and wine bottles in their hands.

"We figured we'd celebrate," Ron says and kisses me on the cheek, "instead of being sad about having no kids here anymore, let's just be happy that all our kids are happy, and that we can FINALLY have sex without interruptions." We all laugh at Ron's words and I actually am very thankful that they decided to do this tonight.

Ginny and I made dinner while Ron and Harry set the table and found music; now we're all sitting around the table as we finish our meal and discussing what's happening in all our kids lives.

Just as we are about to clear the table I hear the floo network active in the living room and in comes Hugo, smiling from ear to ear and looking more like Ron than he ever has before.

"I did it! I'm in!!" he says excitedly and before we have the chance to ask, "I get to play Beater on Saturday!! Will all of you come?"

He looks so happy that my heart feels like its swelling in my chest as we all hop up to hug him and congratulate him. He takes off quickly, wanting to share the news with his best friends, Luna's sons, Lorcan and Lysander, so we all sit back down at the table. Harry and Ron instantly start talking about the match coming up and I actually find myself getting excited to go see the game. I've gone before of course, but this time it seems even more special.

"I can't believe we're going to go watch our son, our nephew, and our son-in-law, play a professional Quidditch game. Oh! I bet Rose will be there!" I say happily, I can't wait for her to get back from her honeymoon.

"Yeah Hermione, you actually seem legitimately excited," Ginny laughs.

Just then a thought occurs to me, and I quickly get up from the table and nod to Ginny to follow while Ron and Harry start talking tactics. When we get into the kitchen I go straight to the cupboards and start looking.

"Okay Hermione what are you looking for?" I smile at Ginny when I see the bottle I had been searching for in the back of the cupboard. I grab the bottle of wine that Ginny bought me all those years ago, the night before I had the twins, and smile at her as I turn around.

"Remember how I promised we'd drink this together?" I say and she grins. We grab a couple of glasses and I pour us the wine but before we take a drink, Ginny insists on making a toast.

"To the health and happiness of all of our children, to each other, to our wonderful husbands, and to our kids winning that blasted game on Saturday," she finishes, while chuckling, and we 'ting' our glasses together and take a sip of wine.

Ron and Harry walk in and as Ron puts his arm around me, Harry does the same to Ginny and says, "So you guys came in here to drink? Without us?"

Ron taps his foot on the ground in a way that reminds me of me when I get disapproving, and adds, "I don't know ladies, I think I'm going to have to take 10 points from Gryffindor for this one."

We share a laugh and I pour each of them a glass as well, this time Ron is the one who makes a toast.

"Let's make this one to Hermione, my wonderful wife, mother of my eight children, who got this wine 15 years ago and saved it for this moment. To the love that we all share, and to each other," Ron says and Harry holds up his hand before we drink and wants to add something.

"To us; to the four of us being together through thick and thin, no matter what and forever, and to being there for our children as well who probably already feel like they have four parents," Harry smiles, "but seriously, to us, because there's nothing more important or more powerful in the world than what our love has accomplished."

We all nod to that and raise our glasses, "Cheers," we say at once, and then take a drink.

I smile as we finish off the last of the wine bottle an hour or so later. I'm sitting on Ron's lap like we're a couple of teenagers and as I look around my living room at all the pictures of my kids and of our family everywhere, I glance at the clock which now has five hands pointed at school, and I realize that in fifty years of living I am totally happy with my picture perfect life.


End file.
